IRISH  CHIEF  LIBERATING  HIS  ENGLISH  SLAVES, 


rn  accordance  with  Act  of  Council,  held  in  Armagh,  1171,  ordering  the  manumission  of  all 

Saxons  sold  by  their  own  relatives.  See  p.  135. 


THE  CONDITION  igT~ 


OF 

WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN 

AMONG  THE 

CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS. 


JOHN  M’ELHEEAN,  M.  B.  C.  S.  E. 

1808T0N  COLLEG®  LIBRARY 
CHESTNUT  HILL,  MASS, 

WITH  ILLUSTRATIONS,  DESIGNED  AND  DRAWN  ON  WOOD  BY  THE  AUTHOR. 


> 


BOSTON: 

PATEICK  DONAHOE, 


23  FRANKLIN  STREET. 

185  8. 


4.q 

•*  i ? 


-<*  • 

V •“ 


^ 4L 


... 


TO  THE  MEMORY 


OF  HIS 

CHRISTIAN  MOTHER, 


AND  ALL  THE  BEAUTIFUL,  GOOD,  AND  TRUE 


Meters  flf  tfe*  §ul, 


THIS  HUMBLE  PRODUCTION  IS  DEDICATED 


BY  THE  AUTHOR 


Diqitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2015 


https://archive.org/details/conditionofwomenOOmelh 


PREFACE. 


One  of  the  grandest  triumphs  of  Christianity  is  to 
be  seen  in  the  spectacle  of  the  kneeling  Irish,  praying 
with  all  the  fervor  of  their  generous  hearts  for  the 
conversion  of  England.  The  most  persecuted  and 
vengeful  race  in  history  offer  up  sacrifice  for  the  tem- 
poral and  eternal  welfare  of  the  most  vile,  perfidious, 
rapacious,  and  cruel  nation  on  the  globe,  — the  English, 
— who  still  treat  the  Irish  and  the  Irish  character  with 
unrelenting  malignity.  It  is  a sight  to  agitate  the 
whole  host  of  heaven. 

It  is  true  that  the  educated  Irish,  who  know  English 
history,  and  can  comprehend  English  policy,  loathe  and 
execrate  the  national  Saxon  character.  Be  it  remem- 
bered that  the  Irish  are  the  injured  party ; yet  it  has 
never  been  their  practice  to  abuse  the  English  in  pri- 
vate conversation  as  well  as  in  the  public  print.  On 
the  contrary,  the  English,  by  a loud  and  incessant 
blowing  of  their  own  trumpet,  have  introduced  cer- 
tain notions  about  John  BulPs  blunt  honesty  and  fair 

(7) 


8 


PREFACE. 


play  even  among  the  robbed,  martyred,  and  maligned 
Gaels. 

I admire  the  charitable  sentiment  of  the  Catholic 
clergy,  that  it  is  better,  if  possible,  to  heal  the  ulcers 
and  conceal  the  deformities  of  English  character  than 
to  tear  them  open  to  the  horrified  gaze  of  Christendom. 
We  cannot  glorify  Celts  by  debasing  Saxons,  though 
the  converse  term  of  this  idea  is  very  prevalent. 

I should  engage  in  a much  pleasanter  task,  and  pro- 
duce a more  salable  work,  by  painting  only  the  bright 
features  of  the  human  soul,  than  by  dwelling  tediously 
upon  human  animalism.  But  in  this  noisy  day  of  An- 
glo-Saxon arrogance,  and  Anglo-American  self-glorifi- 
cation, it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  humble  the  Phari- 
sees. English  writers  have  enviously,  meanly  dragged 
us  down  into  the  mire,  and  we  must  fight  our  way  out 
to  higher  ground.  I come  forward  more  as  a public 
prosecutor  than  as  a simple  historian  or  judge,  because 
the  circumstances  drive  me  necessarily  into  this  posi- 
tion. The  virtues  of  the  English,  and  the  dirt  and 
debasement  of  the  Irish,  are  well  known  wherever 
“The  Times”  and  “Punch,”  and  all  that  tribe  circu- 
late. I dwell  rather  on  the  other  view  of  the  case,  be- 
cause it  has  been  omitted. 

The  boasting  of  the  English  over  the  once  proud 

Irish  — those  Irish  who  used  to  house,  clothe,  feed,  and 

* 

educate  the  Anglo-Saxon  savages,  those  Irish  who 
owned  and  generously  liberated  Anglo-Saxon  slaves  — is 
analogous  to  the  insolent  tyranny  of  the  Turk  over  the 


PREFACE. 


9 


once  proud  Greeks.  A vulgar  instinct  of  the  Turk,  as 
well  as  of  the  Englishman,  is  to  degrade  the  subject  to 
a piteous  state,  and  then  exultingly  and  before  the 
world  to  point  at  him  the  finger  of  scorn.  John  Bull 
thus  exhibits  his  fair  play  and  blunt  honesty. 

Denied  education  by  English  penal  laws,  the  Ijdsh 
are  called  ignorant  and  superstitious . Robbed  of  all 
but  honor,  they  are  called  poor  and  dirty  — loiv  Irish . 
Defrauded  of  their  wages,  the  Irish  laborers  are  called 
lazy  by  the  idle  English  gang  of  armed  banditti. 
Robbed  of  their  inheritance,  the  Irish  farmers  are 
driven  forth  into  the  sea  as  dishonest  rascals  if  they 
cannot  meet  the  demands  of  landlord,  and  church,  and 
state.  Defeated  by  the  superior  resources,  as  well  as 
by  the  broken  treaties,  of  Albion,  and  with  the  bayonet 
ever  at  his  throat,  and  the  Orange  bloodhound  ever  at 
his  heels,  the  Irishman  is  called  unprogressive. 

Burned  out,  crowbarred  out,  like  noxious  vermin  ; 
groaning  under  the  weight  of  the  most  ponderous 
church  and  state  oligarchy  the  world  has  ever  seen  ; 
written  down  by  the  most  talented  hirelings  of  a mighty 
press  ; humbled  to  the  earth  — behold  the  descendants 
of  a noble  race  sitting  at  the  road  side  with  fevered 
hands  covering  their  tearful  eyes.  There  they  sit,  lis- 
tening to  the  vulgar  boasting  of  their  brutal  drivers, 
whose  Saxon  insolence  stings  unceasingly. 

A chief  source  and  support  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  doc- 
trine is  the  rapacity  of  state-churchism.  In  order  to 
plunder  “ Papists  55  with  impunity,  it  must  be  shown 


10 


PREFACE. 


that  Popery  is  a very  bad,  a very  low  thing ; and  in 
order  to  sustain  this  proposition,  it  must  be  demon- 
strated that  none  but  silly,  inferior  races  could  perpet- 
uate Popery.  It  is  not  the  mere  flunky  desire  to  appear 
respectable,  by  claiming  kindred  with  the  royal  Saxe- 
Gotlia,  that  Anglo-Saxonism  has  of  late  years  become 
fashionable  ; there  is  sectarian  malignity  and  political 
rapacity  at  the  bottom  of  it.  “ It  is  the  natural  order 
of  Providence  that  inferior  races  shall  melt  away  before 
the  advance  of  the  superior  Anglo-Saxon ; the  Celt 
must  go  with  a vengeance,”  exclaims  the  brutal  exter- 
minator. “ 0,  verily,  the  Irish  Papists  are  suffering  the 
penalty  of  their  idolatry,”  cry  the  saints  of  Exeter  Hall. 

If  the  hypocrite  deserves  the  deepest  hell,  what 
should  we  say  of  those  philosophers  of  Old  and  New 
England,  who,  while  they  claim  the  Negro  as  a man 
and  a .brother,  endeavor,  both  in  writing  and  in  illus- 
trations, to  degrade  the  Celts  (partly  their  own  ances- 
tors) to  the  level  of  the  baboon.  Whence  this  extraor- 
dinary hatred  of  Irishmen  and  Celts  generally  ? Is 
it  in  natural  instinct  ? No  ; but  in  sectarian  envy  and 
political  antagonisms.  We  see  English-educated  Irish- 
men’s sons  becoming  Saxons ; that  is,  as  the  word  is 
used  in  Ireland,  renegades,  outlaws,  haters  of  their 
race,  contemners  of  the  mother  that  cherished  their 
infant  growth.  But  this  exception  among  the  Irish  is 
a national  feature  of  the  British.  Nations  have  been 
persecuted  by  men  of  their  own  stripe,  but  it  has  been 
reserved  for  the  British  to  deny  their  own  origin. 


PREFACE. 


11 


What  can  be  more  humiliating  than  the  fact  that  the 
British  people,  from  ignorance,  vanity,  religious  big- 
otry, political  rapacity,  and  envy,  have  been  casting 
odium  upon  their  own  Celtic  British  ancestors,  simply 
because  the  rebellious  Irish  are  called  Celts , and  be- 
cause the  future  rulers  and  dispensers  of  patronage 
have  been  born  of  a Saxe-Gotha.  Has  this  boastful 
John  Bull  no  shame  in  thus  bastardizing  himself?  Is 
there  no  vein  of  charity  in  his  heart  ? 

The  people  of  England,  New  and  Old,  seem  to  know 
nothing  of  their  own  origin. 

The  people  of  England,  New  and  Old,  desire  to  know 
nothing  true  about  the  Irish  ; they  only  take  notice  of 
the  Irish  beggars  and  the  drunken,  disorderly  ruffians 
who  come  before  the  public  eye.  The  thousands  of 
industrious,  respectable  Irish  in  their  cities,  and  the 
hard-working,  peaceable,  honest  poor,  who  crowd  the 
Catholic  churches,  are  unobserved.  It  is  in  vain  that 
a few  honest  men  tell  the  English  public  that  the  Irish 
are  preeminent  in  all  the  higher  qualities  that  distin- 
guish the  man  from  the  brute  — in  natural  intelligence, 
docility,  tender  affections,  and  strong  passions,  yet  hav- 
ing the  power  to  subdue  them  — in  love  of  learning, 
music,  poetry,  the  beautiful  and  the  imaginative  — in 
constant  communion  with  departed  friends  and  the 
bright  spirits  of  the  upper  world.  In  short,  it  is  ad- 
mitted that  the  Irish  are  Christians,  and  that,  being 
Christians,  they  have  within  them  the  seeds  of  social 
and  political  regeneration.  Even  “ The  Times,”  our 


12 


PREFACE. 


slanderer,  in  a relenting  moment  said  of  the  Irish  emi- 
grants, that  “ they  are  affectionate  and  hopeful,  jovial 
and  witty,  industrious  and  independent ; in  fact,  the 
rude  element  of  which  great  nations  are  made.”  But 
after  all,  the  British  public  will  only  take  cognizance 
of  the  Irish  wretchedness,  improvidence,  wrangling  and 
intemperance  before  their  eyes,  and  Puritan  Americans 
will  to  associate  these  vices  with  Popery  and  inferiority 
of  the  Irish  race. 

The  Irish  nobility  and  people  lost  the  refinement  and 
civilization  that  flow  from  wealth  and  independence, 
because  they  abandoned  this  world  for  the  sake  of  the 
world  to  come.  Even  before  the  reformation,  had  the 
Irish  slavishly  submitted  to  the  half  Gothic  Norman 
soldiery,  the  parties  would  have  amalgamated ; there 
would  have  been  peace,  and  consequent  prosperity,  more 
sensual  enjoyment,  and  a greater  disposition  to  embrace 
heresy  ; or,  when  the  more  terrible  reformation  came,  if 
the  Irish  had  abandoned  God,  and  become  slavish,  and 
selfish,  and  sensual,  and  entirely  carried  away  by  world- 
ly interests,  like  the  English,  their  condition  would  now 
be  much  superior.  But  they  preferred  poverty  and  the 
cross,  in  hopes  that  God  would  restore  happy  days. 
English  Protestant  ascendency,  and  Irish  Catholic  mag- 
nanimity and  indifference  to  worldly  and  sensual  affairs, 
have  been  the  causes  of  Irish  social  degradation.  Like 
all  Europe,  in  the  first  ages  of  Christianity,  Ireland  has 
been  wasted  as  a battle  field.  Catholicity  and  heresy, 
self-sacrifice  and  selfishness,  have  been  the  contending 


PREFACE. 


13 


parties.  But  the  case  was  different  in  England.  There 
the  people,  though  broken  up  into  countless  sects  and 
parties,  have  a united  nationality.  Organized  rapacity 
has  made  England  great.  Pagan  civilization  has  sup- 
planted Christian  civilization,  and  England  has  acquired 
all  the  mercantile  qualities  and  the  enjoyments  that 
flow  from  the  acquisition  of  wealth. 

The  Christian  Irish  could  not  rise  in  the  world  in  the 
face  of  a pagan  domination  ; they  had  no  chance  with 
an  aristocratic  party  whose  pride  of  life,  selfishness, 
lust  of  ascendency  and  wealth,  gave  them  the  complete 
mastery  in  worldly  affairs  over  the  Catholic  population, 
who  thought  more  of  the  other  world  than  of  this. 
The  self-sacrifice  of  the  Irish  was  necessary  to  the  pres- 
ervation of  the  faith.  God  destined  them  to  preserve, 
through  ages  of  poverty  and  suffering,  the  seeds  of 
Christian  civilization,  which  are  beginning  to  spring  up 
again,  now  that  the  Irish  Catholics  are  winning  eman- 
cipation from  English  acts  of  Parliament.  Irish  Catho- 
lics are  still  proverbially  an  improvident  class.  This 
characteristic  originated  in  the  noble  devotion  of  our 
forefathers  in  preserving  their  liberty  and  faith  ; but  in 
our  day  this  spirit  too  often  degenerates  into  a criminal 
apathy,  a fatalism  which  is  mistaken  for  Christian  res- 
ignation. The  clans  of  the  Gael  must  stir  themselves, 
for  the  sun  of  their  prosperity  has  arisen.  Irish  pov- 
erty and  suffering  certainly  make  the  most  glorious 
page  in  the  history  of  Christianity.  But  there  is  yet 
another  glorious  triumph  to  be  accomplished.  Already 

2 


14 


PREFACE. 


many  thousands  of  Irish  and  their  sons  have  gained 
the  highest  honors  and  independence.  This  fact  speaks 
well  for  the  Milesians,  and  it  is  far  more  creditable 
than  hereditary  wealth  or  title,  or  the  mean  blood- 
colored  ribbons  of  the  English  autocracy. 


> 

v 


* 

i 


» 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Natural  History  op  Man , 

CHAPTER  II. 

Condition  op  the  Family  among  yarious  Nations.  . . . 

CHAPTER  III. 

Leads  to  a Comparison  of  Celts  and  Saxons 


CHAPTER  IV. 

De  Moribus  Germanorum 

CHAPTER  V. 

Domestic  Life  of  the  Ancient  Celts 100 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Roman  Virtue 118 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Slavery  among  the  Anglo-Saxons 132 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Anglo-Saxon  Nation  never  quite  Christianized.  ...  158 

(15) 


Page 

17 


16 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  IX.  * 

Savageism  of  Anglo-Saxon  Legislation 

CHAPTER  X. 

Tiie  Baseness  of  English  Public  Opinion,  and  the  Injustice 
and  Cruelty  of  English  Law  in  Regard  to  Woman.  . . 

CHAPTER  XI. 

English  Evidence  on  the  Turpitude  of  the  English  Race. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Anglo-Orange  Goths  in  Ireland 

-'■'T'-'MC 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

English  Niggers 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Mormonism,  Infanticide,  and  other  English  Traits.  — 
Retrospect  of  English  History 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Domestic  Economy 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Conclusion 


Page 

171 


209 


226 


240 


263 


310 


324 


Appendix 


329 


WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN 


AMONG  THE 

CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

NATURAL  HISTORY  OF  MAN. 

It  is  necessary  here,  once  for  all,  to  define  certain 
terms.  I use  the  word  Celt  to  designate  all  the  oval- 
headed races  of  South  and  West  Europe,  which  was 
anciently  called  Celtica.  This  Celtic  type  extends,  as 
I might  prove,  through  Asia  Minor  into  North  Hin- 
dostan.  Without  insisting  here  on  the  identity  of 
any  two  tribes,  I will,  with  the  learned  reader’s  per- 
mission, use  the  word  Celt , for  want  of  a better,  to 
designate  that  stripe  of  nations  indicated.  In  the 
same  manner  I use  the  word  Goth  to  comprehend  all 
the  North  European  tribes,  such  as  the  true  Germans, 
and  their  Anglo-Saxon  descendants,  who  have  angular 
or  round  heads,  &c. ; and  as  I apply  the  title  Celtic  to 
the  oval  heads  in  the  East,  like  the  Celts,  so  I have 
in  some  cases  applied  the  word  Gothic  to  Eastern 
square-headed  carnivora . 

2* 


(17) 


18  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

A Goth  is  only  an  undeveloped  Celt,  just  as  a child 
is  an  ungrown  man  ; and,  conversely,  a proportion  of 
individuals  in  a Celtic  nation  may,  in  a true  and  physi- 
ological sense,  be  called  Goths,  being  undeveloped  — 
animalized. 

Let  the  reader  bear  in  mind,  while  perusing  the  fol- 
lowing work,  that  the  most  perfectly-constituted  hu- 

4 

man  passes  through  the  stages  of  development  pecu- 
liar to  inferior  beings.  This  explains  how  the  noblest 
individual  retains  in  himself  the  radices  and  instincts 
of  animalism.  The  greatest  saint  or  philosopher  may 
sink  into  the  most  debased  creature.  Celtic  men  and 
Celtic  women  may  and  do  act  occasionally  like  beasts  ; 
but  it  is  impossible  for  the  idiot,  the  half  idiot,  or  the 
savage,  with  brutal  formation,  to  attain  the  profound 
reflection  and  fine  feelings  of  God’s  gifted  ones, 
though  the  simpleton  may  have  faith  and  affection  as 
acceptable  in  the  presence  of  the  Father.  We  must 
look  at  the  aggregate,  not  at  individual  cases,  and  re- 
member that  the  Celts  are  considered  higher  than  the 
Goths,  because  they,  in  general,  rise  higher.  But  a 
demoralized  or  drunken  Celt  may  act  like  a sober 
savage  — morose,  gluttonous,  sensual,  and  cruel. 

The  physiological  diversity  of  individuals  and 
races  is  a most  prominent  fact ; but  from  this  we  are 
not  to  infer  that  religion  is  useless,  as  some  material- 
ists  assume.  On  the  contrary,  human  degeneracy 
and  depravity  render  more  necessary  the  influence  of 
a divine  agency,  which  supplies  to  the  animalized 
man  that  moral  force  which  he  does  not  naturally 
possess. 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  19 


The  majority  of  physiologists  agree  to  the  revealed 
doctrine  of  unity  of  races.  But  types  of  men  have  been 
formed,  and  their  distinctive  peculiarities  are permanent. 
The  degenerate  forms  of  inferior  races  correspond  to 
their  manner  of  life,  and  resemble  the  herbivorous  or 
carnivorous  animals.  The  Gothic,  Mongolian,  and 
red  Indian  nations  have  the  carnivorous  develop- 
ment ; and  so  also  have  the  lowest  races  of  Africans 
and  Australians.  In  fact,  the  carnivorous  type  be- 
longs to  the  original  nomadic  races  all  over  the  world, 
and  its  radical  peculiarities  remain  unchanged  under 
different  phases  of  civilization. 

The  Hindoos  and  superior  tribes  of  Africa  and 
other  fruit-bearing  countries  exhibit  the  herbivorous 
type,  and  its  accompanying  docility. 

The  Celtic  type  of  the  Mediterranean  is  the  superi- 
or and  central.  It  degenerates  on  the  south  into  the 
Arab  or  African,  on  the  east  into  the  Hindoo,  and  on 
the  north  into  the  Goth ; the  races  farthest  removed 
from  the  Celt  being  the  most  degraded,  such  as  the 
Laps  and  fair-haired  Fins,  Ogres,  Baskirs,  &c.,  the 
Samoiedes,  the  Kamtchatkans,  &c.,  the  Hottentotsj 
Bushmen,  and  Australians. 

The  Celts  are  characterized  by  variety  of  complex- 
ion ; the  figure  is  spare  and  athletic,  the  limbs  long 
in  proportion  to  the  trunk.  The  features  are  expres- 
sive, and  small  in  proportion  to  the  cranium,  which  is 
generally  oval.  The  Celt  has  the  largest  brain  in 
proportion  to  the  size  of  jaws  and  length  of  spine. 

The  Celtic  Pelasgic  type  governed  Egypt ; the  Phce- 


20  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


nicians,  Milesians,  Greeks,  Romans,  Spaniards,  Gauls, 
Britons,  and  Gaels  of  Erin  and  Caledonia,  are  the 
members  of  the  Celtic  family. 

The  Celtic  nations  of  the  old  world  have  occupied 
only  a small  tract  of  land,  stretching  from  Asia  Minor, 
along  the  northern  shores  of  the  Mediterranean,  into 
Erin. 

The  Gothic  race,  to  which  the  Anglo-Saxons  belong, 
formed  vast  hordes,  occupying  an  immense  territory  in 
North  Europe.  They  were  all  more  or  less  nomadic, 
and  merged  into  the  Mongol  tribes  of  Asia ; and 
like  the  carnivorous  red  men  of  America,  they  present 
a remarkable  uniformity.  Saxons,  ilngles,  Jutes, 
Danes,  Dutch,  Swedes,  Goths,  Fins,  Russians,  Ogres, 
Huns,  Kaisack,  and  Turks,  all  stretching  originally 
from  the  Caspian  to  the  Baltic,  are  of  one  type  — fair, 
sandy,  or  red  hair,  blue,  gray,  or  green  eyes,  square  or 
round  cranium,  brain  small  in  proportion  to  size  of 
jaws  and  length  of  back.  The  face  is  large,  and  the 
features  generally  lumpish  and  inexpressive.  They 
have  little  or  no  beard ; they  are  bulky,  and  liable  to 
grow  exceedingly  fat,  like  all  inferior  tribes.  The 
lower  extremities  are  short  and  ill  made.  The  whole 
organization  is  essentially  of  the  carnivorous  type. 

The  true  Gothic  type  of  man  in  North  Europe,  to 
which  the  original  Anglo-Saxons  belonged,  have 
broad,  flat  skulls,  of  the  animalized  or  base  form. 

The  Crania  Britannica,  lately  published,  shows  that 
the  skulls  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  graves  belong  to  a 
mixed  race.  Some  are  oblong,  though  inferior  to  the 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  21 

British ; others  are  broad,  flat,  and  distorted,  like  the 
lowest  type  of  North  American  Indians.  These  are 
the  true  Saxons  from  North  Europe.  I have  proved 
by  millions  of  facts  got  from  hatters,  &c.,  that  the 
North  German  skull  is  short,  broad,  and  distorted,  like 
the  old  Saxon  lately  dug  up,  and  like  the  red  Indian 
and  other  savages.  My  lecture  on  this  subject  having 
received  the  high  stamp  of  approval  of  the  Academy 
of  Medicine,  I subjoin  a brief  report. 


From  the  American  Medical  Monthly,  December,  1856. 

Lecture  on  Ethnology , by  Dr.  AT  Ether  an,  M.  R . C.  S.  E . 

“ The  Academy  of  Medicine  met  in  the  University 
on  Wednesday,  November  5.  Seldom  has  there  been 
a larger  attendance  of  professors  and  the  elite  of  the 
faculty.  The  chapel  was  nearly  filled.  It  was  pro- 
posed by  the  secretary,  Dr.  Foster,  seconded  and  car- 
ried unanimously,  that  Dr.  M’Elheran,  member  of  the 
Royal  College  of  Surgeons,  Edinburgh,  be  invited  to 
address  the  Academy  on  the  4 comparative  anatomy 
of  human  crania.’ 

“ The  lecturer  said  that  he  would  have  sought  the 
high  privilege  of  addressing  them  two  years  ago,  but 
he  had  found  the  field  of  his  investigations  still  widen- 
ing, and  he  was  anxious  to  come  before  the  Acade- 
my with  an  essay  as  complete  as  possible.  From  our 
works  on  archseology,  our  museums,  and  from  dentists, 
hatters,  &c.,  he  had  reaped  a rich  harvest  of  facts. 
This  world’s  fair  of  human  specimens,  where  the  sons 


22 


CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


of  men  stand  side  by  side,  is  the  greatest  school  for 
the  student  of  ethnology.  Whatever  credit  his  work 
might  attain,  is,  therefore,  due  to  the  free  spirit  and 
kindly  cooperation  of  the  members  of  the  profession 
in  his  adopted  country. 

“ The  lecturer  maintained  that  ethnology  has  hith- 
erto been  only  an  empiricism,  because  the  transcenden- 
tal doctrines  of  development,  such  as  they  arc,  have 
been  misapplied  or  entirely  disregarded  by  ethnolo- 
gists. He  contends  that  Nature  has  repeatedly 
changed  her  mode  of  operation,  and  that  she  converged 
her  forms  in  approaching  man,  who  presents  the  most 
distinct  evidence  of  antagonisms,  of  unity  and  variety, 
and  of  a versatile  vital  principle,  the  animus  of  which 
is  not  to  be  confounded  with  the  anima , or  soul. 

“ He  believed  that  the  true  doctrine  of  development, 
which  he  briefly  elucidated,  and  the  radiating  degen- 
eracy of  the  human  family  from  the  Celtic  centre, 
supported  the  dogma  of  original  unity.  But  races 
have  been  stereotyped,  and  evidently  as  permanently 
distinct  as  if  they  had  been  created  separately.  Op- 
pressed Celtic  types  have  repeatedly  regained  their 
true  position  physically  and  mentally  ; but  no  inferior 
Gothic  or  other  carnivorous  race  ever  rises  above  a 
certain  level;  for  in  them  the  vital  principle  itself 
seems  impaired.  They  are  stereotyped . 

“ The  lecturer  demonstrated  that  the  brain  and  skull 
of  the  herbivora  are  superior  to  those  of  the  carnivora, 
and  that,  therefore,  we  must  have  a new  classification 
of  animals. 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  23 

u He  divides  men,  according  to  natural  history,  into 
omnivora , herbivora , carnivora . These  are  the  types, 
found  under  various  forms,  infantile,  athletic,  intellect- 
ual, in  the  several  continents  of  the  world.  We  find 
ethnology  a chaos  of  contradictions,  because  authors 
have  not  discriminated  between  forms  arrested  in  de- 
velopment, accidental  types , and  permanent  stereotypes. 
The  common  facts  of  natural  history,  which  eluci- 
date these  phenomena,  have  been  disregarded.  Tran- 
scendental anatomy  explains  the  varieties  of  forms, 
that  is,  degrees  of  development.  Man  is  naturally 
omnivorous,  but  he  degenerates  and  diverges  into  the 
other  stripes.  This  fact  supplies  a philosophic  basis 
for  ethnology,  including  phrenology  and  physiognomy. 
This  oval-headed,  fine-limbed,  beau  ideal  of  the  Celtic 
nations  is  the  central  type  and  perfect  form,  contrast- 
ing with  the  Goths,  Kalmucs,  and  other  square-headed 
carnivora,  and  with  the  true  Negroes,  Hindoos,  and 
other  narrow-headed  herbivora.  The  unmixed,  car- 
nivorous Anglo-Saxons  have  crania  like  the  red  sav- 
ages, being  generally  broad,  short,  and  distorted  ; and 
such  is  the  characteristic  of  the  Gotho- German  at 
this  day.  The  average  white  American  head  is  a 
regular  long  oval,  like  the  Irish,  Welsh,  and  Highland 
Scots.  The  aborigines  of  the  old  world  were,  and 
are,  degenerate  in  proportion  to  their  distance  from 
the  Celtic  Mediterranean  — degradation  being  most 
rapid  southward  into  Africa  and  northward  into  Eu- 
rope and  Asia.  Degeneracy  is  more  gradual  eastward. 

“ The  great  trunk  of  the  Celtic  or  central  type 


24  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


stretches  through  India,  where  it  is  modified.  In 
China  it  is  enfeebled  and  stereotyped.  It  terminates 
in  Central  America,  which  was  the  high  central  realm 
of  the  new  world,  as  Celtica  was  of  the  old.  This 
radiating  degeneracy  of  men  is  like  a process  of  crys- 
tallization ; the  centre  is  most  perfect,  the  superficies 
amorphous.  The  outer  rind  of  the  tree  of  life  is  most 
guborganized.  These  observations  apply  to  races  in 
their  aboriginal  nativities.  The  Anglo-Saxons,  for  ex- 
ample, still  retain  the  evidences  of  their  descent  from 
the  outer  rind  of  humanity  in  North  Europe. 

“ In  1850-51,  he  made  statistics  of  complexion,  &c., 
of  the  inhabitants  of  Great  Britain.  He  was  the  first 
to  analyze  that  conglomeration  of  races,  and  to  demon- 
strate that  the  Celtic  type  of  Shakspeare  and  Wel- 
lington is  dominant.  His  published  address  to  the 
British  Association,  and  his  memorable  controversy 
with  the  Times,  in  October,  1852,  had  extinguished 
Anglo-Saxonism  in  Britain ; but  the  false  theory  still 
prevails  in  America.  His  friend  and  teacher,  Dr. 
Knox,  of  Edinburgh,  although  merely  theorizing,  had 
inoculated  our  whole  scientific  and  public  press  with 
Anglomania.  He  (Dr.  M’Elheran)  had  spent  years 
of  travel  and  study,  investigating  this  special  subject. 
He  made  and  compared  collections  of  portraits  of  the 
Celtic  and  Saxon  races,  specimens  of  which  he  now 
exhibited.  By  a combination  of  anatomical  and  ar- 
tistic skill  he  had  thus  been  enabled  to  enlighten  dubi- 
ous history.  Beginning  with  living  facts,  he  had 
traced  the  Celtic  type  back  through  Italy,  Greece, 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  25 


Asia  Minor,  and  Egypt,  in  illustration  of  their  monu- 
ments, collections  of  crania,  portraits,  antique  statua- 
ry, coins,  &c.,  particularly  in  the  new  gigantic  work, 
the  Tresor  de  Numismatique.  While  even  the  latest 
writers,  Nott,  Davis,  &c.,  still  erroneously  dogmatize 
over  a few  crania,  he  had  broken  up  new  fields  of  in- 
quiry, in  the  reports  of  hatters,  dentists,  hair-dealers, 
&c.,  and  produced  aggregate  millions  of  facts  in  proof 
of  our  Celtic  origin. 

“ The  history  of  emigration,  and  the  peculiarity  of 
our  language,  so  different  from  the  Saxon  dialects  of 
East  and  North  England,  prove  that  our  ancestors 
came  from  the  Celtic  south  and  west  of  England, 
and  the  other  persecuted  Celtic  parts  of  the  three 
kingdoms,  not  to  mention  Celtic  Spain,  Celtic  France, 
and  Celtic  Belgium. 

“ The  Celto- Germans,  from  the  borders  of  the  Rhine, 
probably  outnumbered  the  Gothic  immigrants  from 
North  Europe,  whose  type  has  been  submerged  in  the 
general  Celtic  tide.  The  true  American  type  is  there- 
fore not  a hybrid  Anglo-Saxon,  but  a pure-bred  Celtic 
race,  as  their  language,  their  history,  their  physique, 
and  impulsive,  versatile  genius  testify. 

u This  lecture,  which  fixed  the  attention  of  the  learned 
assembly  during  two  hours,  was  very  profusely  illus- 
trated with  cranial  forms  and  portraits  of  the  Celtic 
and  Gothic  races.  By  merely  changing  the  head- 
dresses and  style  of  wearing  the  hair,  the  lecturer 
demonstrated  that  the  physiognomy,  as  well  as  the 
phrenology  and  lathy  figure  of  the  French  and  Gaelic 

3 


26  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

peasantry,  is  exactly  and  unquestionably  the  same  as 
the  typical  Americans,  such  as  Washington,  Jackson, 
Taylor,  Clay,  Webster,  &c. ; and  that  the  Anglo-Sax- 
on is  like  the  red  Indian  and  other  carnivorous  savages. 

“ The  Academy  expressed  their  approbation  of  the 
demonstrations  by  prolonged  rounds  of  applause.  It 
was  proposed  by  Dr.  J.  W.  Francis,  and  seconded  by 
Dr.  Smith,  that  the  thanks  of  this  Academy  be  ten- 
dered to  Dr.  M’Elheran  for  his  noble  and  lucid  exposi- 
tion of  this  intricate  subject  — the  developments  and 
causes  of  variety  in  mankind.  Passed  unanimously. 

“ Considering  the  vast  future  of  our  country  and 
the  international  interests  involved  in  the  question  of 
race,  this  discourse  of  Dr.  M’Elheran  may  be  consid- 
ered an  event  in  our  history,  as  well  as  a triumph 
over  the  popular  Anglo-Saxon  error.” 

Races  are  distinguished  chiefly  by  natural  propen- 
sities, sentiments,  and  faculties.  Carnivorous  tribes 
are,  like  the  tiger,  essentially,  stupid,  uneducable,  false, 
cruel,  treacherous,  base,  and  bloody.  The  Goth  is 
always,  and  in  ail  circumstances,  a selfish  utilitarian, 
with  little  of  the  soul  that  distinguishes  humanity 
from  brutality  ; he  has  little  or  no  faculty  for  poetry, 
music,  or  abstract  science. 

The  divine  spark  of  genius  radiates  from  the  Celtic 
centre  of  the  world.  The  talent  and  energy  of  Great 
Britain  and  America  belong  to  the  Celt,  not  to  the 
flaxen-haired,  small-brained,  and  grossly-organized 
Saxon  or  Dutchman.  The  genius  of  both  Germany 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  27 

and  Russia  belongs,  partly  to  the  Celts,  but  chiefly  to 
the  Southern  Sclaves,  or  Venetians , as  they  were 
anciently  called.  This  race  is  closely  allied,  physical- 
ly and  intellectually,  with  the  Celts,  and  is  totally  dif- 
ferent from  the  Goth,  or  true  German,  and  the  Musco- 
vite, or  true  Russian. 

The  observations  of  phrenologists,  though  in  most 
cases  accompanied  by  ridiculous  explanations,  bear 
out  the  physiological  distinctions  which  I make  be- 
tween the  carnivorous  and  the  gentle  races. 

Phrenology  establishes  these  facts  : That  the  crani- 
um of  the  superior  type,  the  Celtic,  is  highly  arched, 
and  oval,  and  large  in  proportion  to  the  face  and 
length  of  spine.  The  features,  even  when  coarse, 
are  expressive  of  intelligence  and  benevolence.  The 
ears  are  delicately  cut,  and  set  close  to  the  head.  On 
the  contrary,  it  is  a fact  that  the  skull  of  the  Gothic 
and  Anglo-Saxon  woman  is  flat.  Look  at  the  head 
of  a North  German  or  Saxon  Englishwoman,  and  if  it 
be  of  the  pure  Gothic  type,  you  will  observe  that  the 
back  of  the  head  forms  nearly  a straight  line  with  the 
neck.  The  skull  is  broad  between  and  behind  the 
ears.  The  intellectual  organs  are  tolerably  well  de- 
veloped, but  the  upper  and  back  part  — the  region  of 
the  moral  sentiments  — is  deficient. 

It  is  the  head  of  a woman  who  reasons  more  than 
she  feels,  who  would  destroy  her  own  child  if  domes- 
tic economy  required  the  sacrifice,  or  who  would  rea- 
son herself  into  free-loveism,  and  practise  it. 

History  confirms  anatomy.  The  Gothic  tribes  were 


28  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

most  difficult  to  convert  to  the  chastity,  the  charity, 
and  the  temperance  of  Christ.  And  they  in  one  gen- 
eration threw  off  fasting  and  celibacy,  and  returned  to 
infanticide,  and  free  love,  and  wife-beating,  and  glut- 
tony. What  is  true  of  the  Gothic  race  in  England  is 
true  also  of  the  same  race  in  Germany. 

Doctors  Gall  and  Spurzheim,  in  their  generation, 
had  little  difficulty  in  getting  for  examination  dozens 
of  heads  of  infanticidal  women  in  Germany.  These 
heads  proved  to  be  of  the  true  Gothic  type,  as  seen  in 
the  Saxonized  English,  and  in  the  North  German  and 
Swede.  These  phrenologists  erroneously  supposed  that 
the  brutality  accompanying  the  organization  was  ow- 
ing to  the  smallness  of  a certain  organ ; but  the  true 
explanation  is,  that  the  Saxon  is  the  carnivorous  type 
of  skull,  like  the  destructive  animals,  as  the  cat  that 
will  sometimes  eat  her  own  kittens.  It  is  not  the  ac- 
cidental enlargement  or  occasional  development  of  an 
organ,  but  the  type  of  a race. 

The  moral  distinctions  of  mankind  are  affected  by 
physiological  development.  The  male  of  herbivorous 
races  retains  more  of  the  carnivorous  organization,  ra- 
pacious instinct,  and  cruelty,  than  the  female.  The 
latter  has  a more  oval  head,  smaller  cheek  bones,  less 
angular  jaws,  smaller  clavicles,  shoulders  comparative- 
ly narrow,  &c.  This  rule  applies  to  all  races  of 

/ 

mankind. 

Woman’s  occasional  wickedness  is  mercy,  in  com- 
parison with  the  natural  cruelty  of  man  towards  his 
family. 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  29 

Even  among  the  purely  carnivorous  races,  woman 
partakes  of  the  herbivorous  physique  and  character. 
Hence,  in  all  the  realms  of  the  wide  world,  woman 
surpasses  man  in  beauty,  goodness,  and  truth.  Ex- 
ceptions to  this  rule  are  found  chiefly  among  the  de- 
graded nations.  The  cannibal  women  were  the  fore- 
most to  murder  and  eat  the  unsuspecting  Spanish  ad- 
venturers. But  in  the  higher  Indian  tribe,  Pocahontas 
evinced  the  true  female  clemency,  where  no  mercy 
could  be  expected  from  savage  man. 

In  the  highest  nations,  as  well  as  among  the  hum- 
blest members  of  the  human  family,  woman  is  supe- 
rior in  all  those  emotional  attributes  that  feebly  link 
our  wretched  nature  to  the  angels.  Even  in  the  ma- 
terial instincts  of  order,  cleanliness,  &c.,  woman  is  the 
civilizer,  whether  we  meet  her  in  Asia,  Africa,  Amer- 
ica, or  Europe. 

Morton,  of  Dr.  Kane’s  expedition,  found  that  the 
huts  of  the  Eskimo  were  less  filthy  and  rude  after  the 
arrival  of  the  women,  who  improved  upon  the  bes- 
tiality of  the  bachelor  settlement.  When  they  were 
travelling,  on  one  occasion,  as  they  stopped  at  the  huts 
on  their  way,  the  Eskimo  women  were  ready,  without 
invitation,  to  dry  and  chafe  the  worn-out  guests. 

Mr.  Ledyard,  the  African  traveller,  says,  u To  a 
woman  I never  addressed  myself  in  the  language  of 
decency  and  friendship  without  receiving  a decent  and 
friendly  answer.  If  I was  hungry  or  thirsty,  wet  or 
sick,  they  did  not  hesitate,  like  the  men,  to  perform  a 
generous  action.  In  so  free  and  so  kind  a manner  did 

3* 


80  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


they  contribute  to  my  relief,  that  if  I was  dry  I drank 
the  sweetest  draught,  and  if  hungry  I ate  the  coarsest 
morsel  with  a double  relish.” 

The  Negro  and  Hindoo  women  of  the  pure  herbiv- 
orous type  are  eminently  cheerful  and  gentle,  and 
have  an  extraordinary  love  of  offspring.  The  squaws 
of  the  red  Indian  and  other  carnivorous  tribes  are 
affectionate  to  their  children ; Nature  would  forget 
herself  were  it  otherwise.  Should  a squaw  lose 
her  infant,  she  will  carry  the  cradle  stuffed  with 
feathers,  and  talk  to  it  in  the  most  endearing  terms, 
as  if  the  little  one  were  still  there  to  hear  its  mother’s 
voice. 

The  Anglo-Saxon  and  German  mothers  do  not  for- 
get their  love  for  their  children  ; neither  do  the  sons  of 
these  races  prove  generally  ungrateful  to  their  mothers. 
The  natural  affections  rule  in  all  races  of  men,  as 
well  as  of  lower  animals.  But  among  the  carnivora 
this  rule  has  exceptions.  It  is  only  among  the  carniv- 
orous type  of  lower  animals  and  human  beings  that 
we  find  instances  of  the  mother  destroying  her  own 
offspring — such  as  the  tiger,  the  cat,  the  sow.  The 
New  Zealand  savage,  the  Chinese  heathen,  the  Gothic 
Englishwoman,  and  Saxon  frau,  — these  races  have 
the  carnivorous  type  of  skull.  The  men  of  these  races 
sell  their  wives  and  daughters ; the  women  of  these 
races  murder  their  own  infants.  The  English  were 
infamous  in  Catholic  ages  for  selling  their  children ; 
the  English  are  infamous  in  Protestant  times  for 
butchering  their  children. 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  31 


All  the  hunting  and  wandering  tribes  of  the  earth 
are  of  this  carnivorous  type.  The  Saxons  and  other 
Goths,  originally  belonging  to  this  class,  were  from 
their  habits  necessarily  ferocious  and  cruel.  Always 
in  motion,  and  prepared  for  war,  these  savages  never 
had  time,  if  they  had  the  inclination,  to  cultivate  the 
social  affections ; the  force  of  circumstances,  as  well 
as  selfishness,  always  operated  to  enslave  the  wife  of 
the  barbarian,  whose  God  was  the  God  of  Might. 
From  these  causes  also  sprang  up  infanticide,  espe- 
cially of  female  children,  who  could  not  be  reared  into 
warriors.  The  Gothic  woman  and  the  Indian  squaw 
were  held  in  the  utmost  contempt,  unless  where  super- 
stition gave  some  woman  a supernatural  gift  in  their 
eyes. 

Christianity  and  the  power  of  civil  government  may 
subdue  the  animal  passions,  but  no  race  ever  changes 
its  radical  character.  The  Christian  historian  takes 
physiological  and  other  material  conditions  into  ac- 
count ; were  he  to  neglect  these,  the  church  would  be 
put  in  a false  light,  and  fruit  expected  where  none 
could  be  produced.  Christianity  found  the  Gothic 
and  Tartar  races  of  a low  type,  carnivorous,  brutish, 
proud,  intractable,  and  constitutionally  averse  to  tem- 
perance and  chastity,  while  the  first  law  of  nature  — 
the  love  of  a mother  for  her  child  — was  very  weak. 
After  several  centuries  of  Christianizing,  the  national 
Saxon  character  again  appeared  in  full  force.  Since 
the  reformation,  it  is  a fact  that  the  most  sensual 
forms  of  belief  and  practice  have  spread  among  the 


32  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

most  Gothic  populations  of  Europe ; the  low  develop- 
ment of  inferior  races  thus  appearing  to  be  the  rocky 
soil  oil  which  the  seeds  of  truth  fall. 

The  apostles  planted  the  gospel  in  Italy  and 
other  Celtic  nations  with  the  greatest  care.  Rome, 
the  centre  of  the  Celtic  tribes,  was  made  the  citadel 
of  Christendom,  because  the  Celtic  race  was  least 
fallen,  and  most  highly  gifted  and  amiable^  and  capa- 
ble of  preserving  and  propagating  the  faith  and  the 
charity  of  Christ  among  the  degraded  races  of  the 
earth.  _ In  this  we  must  acknowledge  a divine  Provi- 
dence. The  noble  development,  strong  affection,  and 
eminent  chastity  of  the  Celtic  woman  have  been  more 
powerful  in  preserving  the  faith  than  the  genius  of  the 
Celtic  man. 

I ^ . v|p 

The  chief  sphere  of  Christian  action  involves  the 
domestic  affections  ; and  therefore  the  gentle,  good, 
true-hearted  woman  plays  a vital  part  in  the  history 
of  the  gospel. 

The  Virgin  Mother  gives  us  the  most  sublime  idea 
of  feminine  dignity  and  purity.  This  Christian  doc- 
trine readily  extended  among  the  highest  race,  who, 
after  all  the  revolutions  of  eighteen  hundred  years, 
salutes  the  Madonna  and  her  divine  Son,  while  the 
brutal  Goth,  and  the  sensual  Englishman,  and  the  pa- 
gan Turk  trample  on  her  image. 

The  Celts  were  not  free  from  the  primeval  curse 
upon  the  human  family.  There  is  ample  evidence  to 
prove  that  the  Celtic  woman  and  child  were,  and  are, 
often  barbarously  used  by  their  lords  and  masters  of 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  33 


the  stronger  sex.  But  the  reader  will  observe,  as  he 
goes  through  the  evidence,  that  the  Celts  were  the  only 
race  in  the  whole  world  who  voluntarily  and  naturally 
emancipated  woman  from  brute-force  thraldom,  even 
before  the  time  of  Christianity ; and  that  since  the 
advent  of  Christ,  the  Celtic  race  alone  have  consis- 
tently established  perpetual  chastity,  and  carried  out 
the  divine  precepts  in  regard  to  woman’s  rights  and 
woman’s  duties. 

There  is  an  intimate  connection  between  the  re- 
vealed and  the  natural  laws,  and  between  the  physiol- 
ogy of  human  races  and  the  success  of  Christianity. 
Walker,  on  Intermarriage,  says,  u By  some,  it  is  con- 
tended that  modesty  is  not  a natural  feeling,  but  one 
oJ^Dcial  regulation.  In  our  own  days,  it  certainly 
seemed  to  be  unknown  amongst  the  women  of  Ota- 
heite ; they  came  naked  to  the  South  Sea  voyagers 
when  they  landed,  and  offered  to  them  the  charms 
which  they  exposed,  striving,  too,  to  increase  their 
effect  by  expressive  movements  and  postures.  On  the 
contrary,  we  are  told  that,  in  ancient  times,  owing  to 
the  frequency  of  suicides  at  Miletus,  the  magistrates 
declared  that  the  first  female  who  committed  suicide 
should  be  exposed  naked  in  the  public  square ; the 
Milesian  women  consequently  became  reconciled  to 
life ; and  it  is  thence  concluded  that  modesty  is  a nat- 
ural sentiment.” 

But  by  this  it  would  appear  that  primitive  races  were 
not  all  equally  modest,  though  all  were  pagans.  For 
our  Milesian  mothers  learned  to  drape  themselves,  and 


34  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

to  abhor  exposure,  not  through  consciousness  of  guilt, 
but  from  innate  modesty.  On  the  contrary,  as  we 
shall  find,  the  Germans  and  Anglo-Saxons  whipped 
their  offending  women  naked  through  the  public  streets, 
in  order  to  chasten  public  sentiment. 

English  modesty  cannot  bear  to  look  at  the  Greek 
or  Italian  sculptures,  but  it  can,  bare-breasted  and  in 
close  embrace,  dance  the  polka  — a modest  German 
invention.  This  amorous  dance  is  one  of  the  accom- 
plishments which  the  Celts  have  learned  from  the 
Saxons. 

The  English,  from  their  physiological  constitution, 
and,  as  it  were,  by  instinct,  quote  Scripture  against 
chastity.  The  Irishman  may  be  profligate,  but  yet  he 
knows  that  chastity  is  possible.  The  argumen^jgf 
English  divines  and  writers,  that  chastity  is  unnatural , 
and  celibacy  of  clergy  an  imposture,  is  not  sustained 
by  facts. 

The  medical  officers  of  certain  institutions  in  large 
cities  know  that  houses  of  ill-fame  are  supported 
chiefly  by  married  men ; and  they  are  also  cognizant 
of  the  fact  that  the  very  busiest  time  of  the  brothels 
is  during  the  sessions  of  the  general  assemblies  of  the 
Protestant  clergy.  This  fact  was  made  public  in  a 
court  of  justice  not  long  since,  in  Edinburgh  ; but  it  is 
equally  true  of  the  other  large  cities  in  England  and 
the  United  States. 

Englishmen  should  know  that  man  is  not  to  be 
judged  by  the  same  physiological  standard  as  other 
animals.  Anglo-Saxons  may  except  themselves,  if 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  85 

they  will.  The  most  distinguished  physiologists  as- 
sert that  continence  becomes  a habit  in  man,  not  in- 
jurious, but  highly  beneficial  to  mind  and  body. 

The  Anglo-Saxon  horror  of  celibacy,  and  fasting, 
and  humiliations,  and  poverty,  arises,  not  from  a pure 
reading  of  the  Bible,  but  from  the  gross  animalism  of 
the  race,  which  the  Catholic  church  failed  to  eradicate. 
Reading  of  the  Bible  will  not  explain  how  it  is  that 
spiritual  fanaticism  characterizes  Celtic  dissenters, 
while  beastly  fanaticism  is  the  gospel  reading  of  the 
Saxon.  Celts  become  Methodists,  or  Presbyterians, 
or  Spiritualists,  as  in  Wales  and  the  Highlands;  Sax- 
ons become  Mormons,  Free-Lovers,  &c. 

Let  the  reader  not  infer  that  I saddle  all  the  faults 
and  horrors  of  England  upon  the  Anglo-Saxon  race. 
The  English  are  a mixed  race  ; they  inherit  the  vices, 
with  few  of  the  virtues,  of  their  ancestors.  Nor  do  I 
forget  that  when  England  was  “ merrie,”  and  hospitable, 
and  pious  to  a certain  extent,  she  was  under  the  influ- 
ence of  the  confessional,  the  fasting,  the  obedience, 
and  the  discipline  of  the  Catholic  church. 

If  certain  Americans  will  ignorantly  persist  in  call- 
ing themselves  Saxon,  let  them  abide  by  the  disgrace 
of  Saxon  history. 

The  matchless  hypocrisy  and  inhumanity  of  Old 
England  and  New  England  is  no  proof  that  the  race 
is  Anglo-Saxon,  that  Gothic  breed  being  long  since 
absorbed  ; it  is  only  proof  that  the  hybrid  is  as  bad,  if 
not  worse,  than  the  pure  Goth.  There  is  no  necessity 
for  attempting  to  estimate  the  relative  quantity  a ? sas - 


36  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

san  blood  in  Great  Britain  and  America.  We  have 
only  to  compare  the  conditions  of  women  and  children 
in  the  most  Saxonized  populations  of  Europe  and 
• America  with  their  condition  in  the  present  Celtic 
nations  of  the  same. 


THE  CELTIC ? GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  37 


CHAPTER  II. 

CONDITION  OF  THE  FAMILY  AMONG  VARIOUS 

NATIONS. 

It  may  be  stated  here  as  a general  rule,  that  the 
herbivorous  tribes  of  savages  are  more  humane  than 
the  carnivora.  Red  Indians  are  generally  affectionate 
to  their  squaws.  A warrior,  if  unobserved , will  carry 
his  child,  or  the  load  which,  according  to  custom,  the 
poor,  weak  woman  must  bear ; but  this  fear  of  being 
seen  helping  a wife  proves  the  rule  of  severity. 
Among  red  tribes  the  old  women  must  bear  the  heavy 
load,  while  the  young  wife  is  spared,  and  only  made 
to  drudge  when  there  is  no  mother  on  whom  to  im- 
pose the  burden. 

Among  the  Negroes,  on  the  contrary,  especially 
among  the  more  herbivorous,  there  is  more  justice  and 
humanity.  For  this  fact  I have  the  authority  of  Rev. 
Father  J.  Kelley,  of  Jersey  City,  who  was  a mission- 
ary in  Africa. 

Rev.  Mr.  Livingston  observes  that  among  the  Ne- 
groes he  saw,  the  son-in-law  is  obliged  to  carry  water, 
&c.,  for  his  mother-in-law.  This  is  as  it  ought  to  be. 

When  an  Indian  slays  game,  he  leaves  it  where  it 
falls,  and  sends  the  squaw  to  drag  it  home  and  cook  it. 
She  must  also  take  off  his  moccasons,  wash  his  feet,  &c. 

4 


38  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

u The  education  of  Moorish  girls  is  neglected  alto- 
gether ; they  are  regarded  as  an  inferior  species  of 
animal,  and  seem  to  be  brought  up  for  no  other  pur- 
pose than  that  of  ministering  to  the  sensual  pleasures 
of  their  imperious  masters.  Voluptuousness  is  there- 
fore considered  as  their  chief  accomplishment,  and 
slavish  submission  as  their  indispensable  duty.”  (Mun- 
go Park.) 

Those  Moors  are  described  by  the  same  eminent 
traveller  as  being  a flesh-eating,  gluttonous,  treacher- 
ous, and  cruel  race,  proud  and  haughty  beyond  de- 
scription, yet  mean  and  mendacious.  The  concubines 
of  the  rich  are  forcibly  stuffed  with  meat  and  drink  to 
make  them  fat,  while  the  women  of  inferior  rank  are 
subjected  to  incessant  drudgery.  These  Moorish 
women  are  immodest  and  less  cheerful  and  hospitable 
than  the  Negresses. 

Among  the  Mandingo  Negroes  every  man  of  free 
condition  has  a plurality  of  wives.  A separate  hut  is 
assigned  to  each  ; all  the  huts  belonging  to  the  same 
family  are  enclosed,  and  a number  of  these  enclosures 
constitutes  a town. 

The  Negro  women  suckle  their  young  until  they 
are  able  to  walk  of  themselves.  Three  years’  nursing 
is  not  uncommon.  Wives  are  usually  purchased  from 
the  parents,  under  the  guise  of  presents.  The  girl’s 
consent  is  by  no  means  necessary  to  the  match.  She 
may,  indeed,  refuse  the  suitor,  but  if  she  do  so  contra- 
ry to  the  parental  wish,  she  must  remain  unmarried  all 
her  life. 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS. 


39 


The  Negroes,  as  well  as  the  Moors,  whether  Ma- 
hometan or  pagan,  allow  plurality  of  wives.  Mungo 
Park  says  that  the  Negroes  seldom  treat  their  wives 
cruelly,  nor  did  he  perceive  that  mean  jealousy  among 
them  so  prevalent  among  the  carnivorous  Moors  ; and 
though  the  Negro  women  are  very  cheerful  and  frank 
in  their  behavior,  they  are  by  no  means  given  to  in- 
trigue. Conjugal  infidelity  is  uncommon.  A wife 
can  appeal  against  marital  injustice  to  a jury,  who 
hold  a palaver  on  his  conduct ; but  the  wife’s  com- 
plaints are  not  always  considered  in  a very  serious 
light.  If  she  murmurs  at  the  decision  of  the  court, 
the  magic  rod  of  Mumbo  Jumbo  soon  settles  the  busi- 
ness. The  Negro  wife  is  treated  as  a child ; the 
Moorish  wife  as  a slave,  or  inferior  animal. 

Polygamy  exists  throughout  Africa,  and  the  king  of 
Dahomey  might  well  excite  the  envy  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  Mormons  — he  has  regiments  of  wives. 

On  the  death  of  an  African  king  or  prince,  a num- 
ber of  women,  according  to  his  wealth,  are  slaughtered 
at  his  grave,  either  to  accompany  him,  or  to  prevent 
them  marrying  any  other. 

Mungo  Park  gives  a passable  character  to  the  agri- 
cultural Negroes,  whose  industry  and  kindly-forgiving 
nature  forms  a contrast  with  the  carnivorous  Moors 
on  the  one  hand,  and  the  Kaffirs  (infidels)  on  the 
other.  The  Negro  women,  in  particular,  he  always 
found  to  be  kind-hearted,  and  extremely  affectionate 
to  their  families.  This  feeling  is  reciprocated  by  the 
children.  It  is  a common  expression  among  them 


40  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


when  quarrelling,  “ Strike  me,  but  do  not  curse  my 
mother.”  One  of  the  first  lessons  in  which  the  Man- 
dingo  women  instruct  their  children  is  the  practice  of 
truth.  A mother’s  greatest  consolation  under  the  be- 
reavement of  a son,  is  the  reflection  that  he  never  told 
a lie. 

In  Cochin  China,  women  are  freer  than  they  are 
among  the  Celestials. 

In  Siam  and  the  East  Indian  Islands,  woman,  al- 
though enslaved,  is  freer  and  more  honored  than  in 
China,  which  is  geographically  and  ethnologically  far- 
ther removed  from  the  Celtic  centre. 

The  Malays  are  physically  a very  brutish  race,  of 
the  carnivorous,  square-headed,  flat-faced,  Gothic  type. 
Their  marital  laws  in  many  parts  require  a bridegroom 
to  slay  some  men  before  being  admitted  as  a suitor. 
The  heads  are  presented  to  the  bride. 

Montesquieu  says  the  Tartars,  who  may  marry  their 
daughters,  never  marry  their  mothers,  as  we  find  in  the 
accounts  we  have  of  that  nation.  This  law  *is  very 
ancient  among  them.  “ Attila,”  says  Priscus,  “ in  his 
embassy,  stopped  in  a certain  place  to  marry  Esca,  his 
daughter  — a thing  permitted,”  he  adds,  u by  the  laws 
of  the  Scythians.”  (P.  22.  ) 

“ In  the  tribe  of  the  Naires,  on  the  coast  of  Malabar, 
the  men  can  have  only  one  wife,  while  a woman,  on 
the  contrary,  may  have  many  husbands.  The  origin 
of  this  custom  is  not,  I believe,  difficult  to  discover. 
The  Naires  are  the  tribe  of  nobles,  who  are  the  soldiers 
of  all  those  nations.  In  Europe,  soldiers  are  forbidden 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  41 

to  marry.  In  Malabar,  where  the  climate  requires 
greater  indulgence,  they  are  satisfied  with  rendering 
marriage  as  little  burdensome  to  them  as  possible  ; 
they  give  one  wife  amongst  many  men,  which  conse- 
quently diminishes  the  attachment  to  a family,  and 
the  cares  of  housekeeping,  and  leaves  them  in  the  free 
possession  of  a military  spirit.” 

We  learn  from  Allan  Butler’s  Life  of  St.  Francis 
Xavier,  that  the  Japanese  are  extremely  superstitious, 
haughty,  and  shamelessly  abandoned  to  all  kinds  of 
incontinence.  The  laws  are  excessively  cruel,  and 
the  people  themselves,  on  the  slightest  occasion,  com- 
mit suicide  by  ripping  open  the  bowels.  They  exceed 
even  the  English  in  the  slavish  worship  of  the  sacred 
person  of  majesty.  The  Japanese  have  not  learned, 
like  the  English,  to  make  money  by  infanticide ; but 
we  are  told  “ poor  parents  expose  and  murder  their 
infant  children,  and  see  them  expire  without  changing 
their  countenance.” 

Polyandry  must  have  originated  and  prevailed  only 
among  those  nomadic  savages  who  found  it  necessary 
to  check  the  growth  of  population  by  means  of  infan- 
ticide of  female  children,  the  males  being  spared  as 
young  warriors. 

In  Tartary,  for  example,  a the  practice  of  polyandry 
prevails  amongst  the  Ladakis,  but  it  is  strictly  con- 
fined to  brothers  — each  family  of  brothers  having 
one  wife  in  common.  This  system,  however,  prevails 
only  among  the  poorer  classes ; for  the  rich,  as  in  all 

4* 


42  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

Eastern  countries,  generally  have  two  or  three  wives, 
according  to  their  wealth.” 

“ Throughout  the  broad  expanse  of  Asia,  from  time 
immemorial,  the  lot  of  woman  has  been  that  of 
wretched  personal  slavery  and  social  abasement ; but 
in  China  her  miserable  condition  seems  to  touch 
the  extreme  that  is  possible  for  human  nature  to  en- 
dure. Sold  and  married  without  their  consent,  starved 
and  beaten,  and  used  like  a dog  in  the  family  of  their 
new  husbands,  the  Chinese  women  have  no  means  of 
retaliation  but  to  commit  suicide.  Then  the  China- 
man, avaricious  as  he  is  brutal,  weeps  because  he 
must  buy  a new  wife.”  ( Hue’s  Chinese  Empire.) 

The  mean,  bullying  selfishness  of  the  Chinese  of  the 
present  day  towards  their  women  is  but  a counterpart 
of  their  inhuman  cowardice,  and  readiness  to  sacrifice 
them  to  their  conquerors  in  former  times.  An  account 
of  their  treaty  with  the  Huns,  before  the  Christian  era, 
is  concluded  as  follows  : — 

“But  there  still  remained  a more  disgraceful  article 
of  tribute,  which  violated  the  sacred  feelings  of  hu- 
manity and  nature.  * * * A select  band  of  the 

fairest  maidens  of  China  was  annually  devoted  to  the 
rude  embraces  of  the  Huns  ; and  the  alliance  of  the 
haughty  Tongans  was  secured  by  their  marriage  with 
the  genuine  or  adopted  daughters  of  the  imperial  fam- 
ily, which  vainly  attempted  to  escape  the  sacrilegious 
pollution.  The  situation  of  these  unhappy  victims  is 
described  in  the  verses  of  a Chinese  princess , who 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  48 


laments  that  she  has  been  condemned  by  her  parents 
to  a distant  exile,  under  a barbarian  husband,  who 
complains  that  sour  milk  was  her  only  drink,  raw  flesh 
her  only  food,  and  a tent  her  only  palace  ; and  who 
expresses,  in  a strain  of  patriotic  simplicity,  the  natu- 
ral wish  that  she  were  transformed  into  a bird,  to  fly 
back  to  her  dear  country,  the  object  of  her  tender  and 
perpetual  regret.”  ( Gibbon .) 

I may  here  quote  the  following  paragraph  on  the 
subject  of  Chinese  love  of  offspring:  — 

u There  are  various  opinions  as  to  the  extent  of  in- 
fanticide in  China ; but  that  it  is  a common  practice 
in  many  provinces  admits  of  no  doubt.  One  of  the 
most  eloquent  Chinese  writers  against  infanticide, 
Kwei  Chunk  Fu,  professes  to  have  been  specially  in- 
spired by  c the  god  of  literature  5 to  call  upon  the 
Chinese  people  to  refrain  from  the  inhuman  practice, 
and  declares  that  6 the  god  ’ had  filled  his  house  with 
honors,  and  given  him  literaiy  descendants,  as  the 
recompense  for  his  exertions.  Yet  his  denunciations 
scarcely  go  farther  than  to  pronounce  it  wicked  in 
those  to  destroy  their  female  children  who  have  the 
means  of  bringing  them  up ; and  some  of  his  argu- 
ments are  strange  enough.  ‘ To  destroy  daughters,5 
he  says,  ‘ is  to  make  war  upon  Heaven’s  harmony,5 
(in  the  equal  numbers  of  the  sexes  ;)  c the  more  daugh- 
ters you  drown,  the  more  daughters  you  will  have ; 
and  never  was  it  known  that  the  drowning  of  daugh- 
ters led  to  the  birth  of  sons.5  He  recommends  aban- 
doning children  to  their  fate  i on  the  wayside,5  as 


44  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

preferable  to  drowning  them,  and  then  says, 4 There  are 
instances  of  children  so  exposed  having  been  nursed  and 
reared  by  tigers.  Where  should  we  have  been,’  he  asks, 
4 if  our  grandmothers  and  mothers  had  been  drowned  in 
their  infancy  ? ’ And  he  quotes  two  instances  of  the 
punishment  of  mothers  who  had  destroyed  their  in- 
fants, one  of  whom  had  a blood-red  serpent  fastened 
to  her  thigh,  and  the  other  her  four  extremities  turned 
into  cow’s  feet.  Father  Ripa  mentions  that  of  aban- 
doned children  the  Jesuits  baptized  in  Pekin  alone  not 
less  than  three  thousand  yearly.  Sir  John  Bowring 
says  he  has  seen  ponds  which  are  the  habitual  recep- 
tacles of  female  infants.,  whose  bodies  lie  floating 
about  on  the  surface.” 

The  apology  usually  given  for  Chinese  bestiality  is 
over-population.  This  is  no  excuse.  Europeans  had 
often  to  complain  of  the  same  ; but  they  preferred, 
because  they  were  a brave  race,  to  spread  out  and 
subdue  other  nations  before  murdering  their  own 
babes. 

But  the  Chinese  are  a cowardly,  cat-like,  carnivo- 
rous race,  and,  like  all  their  type  over  the  world,  devoid 
of  humanity. 

In  many  respects,  physically  and  morally,  the  old 
outlandish  Goths  in  the  north  of  Europe,  and  their 
descendants,  the  Anglo-Saxons,  are  like  the  Chinese, 
especially  in  regard  to  their  treatment  of  women,  and 
their  infanticidal  propensities,  and  their  low,  mercena- 
ry ideas  of  marriage.  In  this  respect,  even  the  Chris- 
tianized Saxons  were  lower  than  other  savages.  44  By 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  45 

most  of  the  American  tribes,  by  some  of  the  Pacific 
Islanders,  and  generally  by  the  domestic  despots  of 
the  East,  an  adulteress  is  doomed  to  death ; but  the 
avaricious  Chinaman,  who  parts  with  his  money  as 
with  his  life’s  blood,  sells  her  into  slavery.”  (Hue.) 

One  would  think  that  the  natural  affections  should 
be  as  strong  among  the  lowest  race  as  among  the 
highest,  and  that  the  savage  should  inspect  his  wife 
and  love  his  child,  as  do  the  Celts ; but  such  is  not  the 
case. 

In  America,  the  more  highly  organized  and  civilized 
tribes  are  also  the  most  affectionate  and  respectful  to 
their  wives  and  children,  as  seen  in  the  contrast  be- 
tween the  Peruvians  and  the  Caribs,  &c.  Among  the 
races  of  New  Holland  and  Polynesia,  the  lowest  and 
farthest  off  are  the  most  brutish  to  their  wives  and 
children,  while  the  more  highly  organized  Sandwichers 
and  Tongans  hold  their  women  in  esteem,  yet  not 
so  great  as  among  the  Peruvians  and  Mexicans,  with 
whom  marriage  was  held  in  great  reverence,  and  “ di- 
vorce only  allowed  by  mutual  consent,  and  after  a sol- 
emn trial.”  (Prescott.) 

In  Mexico,  marriages  were  conducted  with  much 
public  ceremony.  Divorces  were  voluntary  on  both 
sides,  the  daughters  going  with  the  mother,  the  sons 
with  the  father. 

Hasty  separations  were  guarded  against  by  the  pro- 
vision, that  should  they  cohabit  after  being  once  sepa- 
rated, both  husband  and  wife  should  suffer  death. 

Widows  did  not  marry,  and  sometimes  immolated 


46  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

themselves  on  their  husband’s  tomb.  The  Span- 
iards give  an  interesting  history  of  a Mexican  girl, 
whom  they  called  Donna  Maria,  and  who  had  been 
sold  by  her  own  mother. 

Dc  Soto’s  rencontre  with  a queen  of  Florida,  who 
governed  her  nation,  reminds  one  of  the  meeting  of 
Cleopatra  and  Antony,  so  grand  was  the  lady’s  pal- 
anquin, canoe,  and  retinue. 

Polygamy  was  universally  practised  among  the 
Mandans  and  other  tribes,  by  all  whose  rank  and  means 
enabled  them  to  pay  the  stipulated  price  of  wives. 

The  females  of  Paraguay  were  of  most  remarkable 
beauty,  but  preeminent  among  them  was  the  widow 
of  Caonabo.  Her  queenly  demeanor,  grace,  and  cour- 
tesy won  the  admiration  of  all  the  Spaniards. 

These  Indians  were  naturally  good  and  chaste. 
Some  one  of  the  Spaniards  having  committed  an  in- 
decency, the  principal  cacique,  Guarioux,  refused  to 
listen  to  the  doctrines  of  those  who  were  guilty  of 
such  villanies. 

When  the  Portuguese  landed  at  Cape  St.  Roque, 
a young  man  went,  forward  alone  to  communicate 
with  the  natives,  “ when,  in  plain  sight  of  his  com- 
rades, he  was  set  upon  by  the  women,  knocked  down 
by  a club  from  behind,  and  dragged  off  beyond  range 
of  the  firearms,  dismembered,  broiled,  and  eaten.” 
Such  scenes  were  often  witnessed. 

But  among  a superior  type  of  savages,  we  have 
the  memorable  scene  of  the  generous  Indian  girl, 
Pocahontas,  saving  the  life  of  Captain  Smith. 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  47 

The  Guaycuros  of  Paraguay,  one  of  the  most  sav- 
age and  warlike  tribes  of  South  America,  are  described 
by  Count  Castelnau.  They  are  probably  the  de- 
scendants of  the  northern  carnivorous  Caribs.  The 
author  says  that  each  warrior  has  his  mark,  which  he 
burns  on  all  that  belongs  to  him  — his  horses,  dogs, 
and  ivives.  One  of  the  most  atrocious  traits  in  the 
manners  of  this  people  is  that  of  putting  to  death  all 
children  born  of  mothers  under  thirty  years  of  age. 

We  know  that  in  like  manner  the  Saxons  used  to 
brand  their  female  property,  and  that  the  Germans 
were  averse  to  early  marriages,  as  Csesar  informs  us. 
We  are  told  that  this  was  an  evidence  of  virtue  in  the 
Germans.  But  of  course,  in  the  eyes  of  the  Saxe- 
Gotha  writers,  the  German  savages  were  like  no  other 
savages,  being  very  divine  and  virtuous  savages. 
Even  their  gluttony  and  drunkenness  were  only  indi- 
cations of  u that  robust  energy  which  Heaven  designed 
should  ultimately  rule  the  world.” 

The  Hurons  pay  considerable  respect  to  woman. 
The  Guarimies  prohibit  polygamy,  and  several  of  the 
North  American  tribes  prohibit  any  approach  to  incest, 
even  compelling  their  young  men  to  marry  out  of  their 
own  tribe. 

These  are  the  exceptions  to  the  general  rule  among 
American  savages,  and  are  very  probably  entirely  due 
to  the  early  teaching  of  the  Jesuit  missionaries. 

Dr.  Kane  says  of  the  Eskimos,  “ Miserable,  yet 
happy  wretches,  without  one  thought  for  the  future, 
fighting  against  care  when  it  comes  unbidden,  and 


48  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


enjoying  to  the  full  their  scanty  measure  of  present 
good.  As  a beast,  the  Esquimau  is  a most  sensible 
beast,  worth  a thousand  Calibans,  and  certainly  ahead 
of  his  cousin,  the  polar  bear,  from  whom  he  borrows 
his  pantaloons.” 

Elsewhere  he  says  of  the  tribes,  “ Destitute  as  they 
are,  they  exist,  both  in  love  and  community  of  re- 
sources, as  a single  family.”  In  the  dreary  night  of 
winter,  “ they  interchange  with  each  other  the  sympa- 
thies and  social  communion  of  man,  and  diffuse 
through  the  darkness  a knowledge  of  the  resources 
and  condition  of  all.” 

“ Among  the  regal  perquisites  of  the  nalycik-soak 
[the  king]  was  the  questionable  privilege  of  having  as 
many  wives  as  he  could  support.” 

The  old  practice,  which  is  found  among  some  of  the 
Asiatic  and  North  American  tribes,  of  carrying  off 
the  bride  by  force,  is  common  among  the  Eskimos, 
and  reluctantly  abandoned  even  by  the  converted. 
The  ceremonial  rite  follows  at  the  convenience  of  the 
parties. 

Parental  affection,  the  law  of  animated  nature,  holds 
its  sway  in  the  dark,  icy  north  ; children  are  cared  for, 
toys  manufactured,  and  joy  expressed  at  their  gam- 
bols. They  can  love  each  other,  and  the  social  in- 
stinct of  man  makes  them,  as  all  savages  are,  hospi- 
table. They  were  friendly  and  honest  towards  Dr. 
Kane’s  party,  when  mutual  interest  associated  them. 

But  these  good  qualities  depend  more  upon  a pre- 
carious animal  instinct  than  upon  that  intelligent 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  49 

feeling  that  guides  the  actions  and  animates  the  sym- 
pathies of  the  higher  races  of  men. 

Dr.  Kane  relates  an  instance  of  infanticide  among 
the  Eskimos.  Awahtok  and  his  young  wife,  a pleas- 
ant and  happy  couple,  when  he  first  saw  them,  were 
exulting  over  the  first  pledge  of  their  union  — a fine 
little  girl.  But  the  bestial  ferocity  of  the  cold-blooded 
carnivora  happened  to  be  aroused  by  a natural  weak- 
ness in  the  infant,  44  and  the  parents,  lately  so  fond, 
took  out  the  poor  child,  and  buried  her  alive  under  a 
pile  of  stones.  When  Dr.  Kane  afterwards  ques- 
tioned the  parents,  he  says,  44  Their  manner  satisfied 
me  that  the  story  was  true ; they  turned  their  hands 
downward,  but  without  any  sign  of  confusion ; they 
did  not  even  pay  its  memory  the  cheap  compliment 
of  tears,  which,  among  these  people,  are  always  at 
hand.” 

An  Eskimo  king,  Noluk,  44  on  his  last  visit,  [to  his 
dying  wife,]  saw  her  through  the  window  a corpse, 
and  his  infant  son  sucking  at  her  frozen  breast.  Pa- 
rental instinct  was  mastered  by  panic  ; he  made  his 
way  south,  without  crossing  the  threshold.” 

From  the  extreme  north,  let  us  turn  our  eyes  to  the 
extreme  south  of  the  world.  I.  I.  Jarvis,  an  American 
missionary,  says  that  the  Polynesians,  even  of  the 
higher  type,  in  the  Sandwich  Islands,  made  the  de- 
formed, dependent,  foolish,  and  blind,  the  cruel  sport 
of  idlers,  or  they  were  left  to  perish.  Aged  and  help- 
less parents  were  frequently  cast  out  from  homes 
which  their  own  hands  had  reared,  and  abandoned 

5 


50  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

to  die  on  the  roadside,  uncared  for  and  unpitied  by 
neighbor  or  relative,  their  corpses  the  prey  of  prowl- 
ing dogs. 

“ Humanity  to  the  aged  and  afflicted  could  not  be 
expected  from  those  whose  4 tender  mercies  were  cru- 
elty ’ to  their  own  offspring.  Multitudes  were  yearly 
destroyed  before  birth,  by  means  which  will  not  bear 
record,  and  which  caused  permanent  injury  to  the 
mother.  As  many,  perhaps,  were  murdered  weeks, 
months,  and  even  years,  after  they  saw  light.  Parents 
had  authority  of  life  and  death  over  their  young,  ac- 
countable to  no  one ; infanticide  was  more  prevalent 
among  the  poorer  classes  than  the  rich  ; whim,  expe- 
diency, or  fear  of  diminishing  their  personal  charms, 
to  them  were  adequate  motives  to  doom  their  young 
to  a barbarous  death.  The  poor  destroyed  most  of 
their  children,  to  avoid  the  expense  or  trouble  of  rear- 
ing them  ; other  classes,  from  laziness,  ill  humor,  or  to 
gratify  a malignant  disposition.  Should  a quarrel 
arise  between  the  parents,  the  child  was  liable  to  be 
sacrificed.  A case  happened  in  Hawaii,  in  regard  to 
a boy  seven  years  of  age.  Both  parties  became  fran- 
tic with  rage ; the  father  seized  the  child  by  the  wrists 
with  one  hand,  and  the  legs  in  the  other,  and  with  one 
stroke  broke  its  back  across  his  knee,  and  threw  the 
mangled  corpse  at  the  feet  of  his  wife.  The  child 
was  his  own ; no  one  could  have  interfered  to  prevent 
or  punish.  Some  spared  two  or  three,  but  more  de- 
stroyed all  but  one.  It  was  sometimes  done  by  stran- 
gling, and  often  by  burying  the  innocent  sufferers 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  51 


alive,  both  parents  uniting  in  trampling  the  earth  over 
the  form  of  their  murdered  babe,  the  floor  of  their  own 
hut  not  unfrequently  being  the  grave.  Those  who 
indulged  in  such  a fiendish  disposition,  it  is  said,  de- 
stroyed upon  an  average  two  thirds  of  their  children. 
For  the  credit  of  humanity,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  it 
was  not  so  prevalent  as  some  recent  writers  have  sup- 
posed ; else  its  increase  was  latterly  great.  Numbers 
of  women  are  to  be  found,  who  confess  to  the  murder 
of  from  three  to  six  and  eight  children.  I have  seen 
one,  who  herself  was  buried  alive  by  her  own  mother, 
but  disinterred  in  time  to  save  her  life,  by  a charitable 
neighbor,  who  adopted  her.  Females,  being  consid- 
ered as  less  useful  than  males,  were  more  often  de- 
stroyed. 

“ Cook,  in  his  account  of  Kauai,  praises  their  parental 
affection  and  kindness.  But  voyagers,  in  such  super- 
ficial observations  as  shortness  of  time  and  ignorance 
of  language  allow  them  to  make,  are  liable  to  error. 
More  authentic  records  and  subsequent  examinations 
have  proved  infanticide,  in  all  its  horrible  shades,  to 
have  been  a common  custom  ; not  perhaps  to  such 
an  extent  as,  by  itself,  to  occasion  a great  decrease  of 
population,  though,  joined  with  other  causes,  it  pro- 
duced most  deplorable  results.  Tenderness  to  the  liv- 
ing was  not  to  be  increased  by  the  exercise  of  so  fell 
a passion.  Hawaiian  parents  had  a kind  of  animal 
affection  for  their  offspring,  which,  like  any  instinct, 
was  not  governed  by  reason,  and  was  as  often  injuri- 
ous as  beneficial.  The  ill  effects  of  this  were  apparent 


52  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

in  their  education.  There  was  no  regular  family  dis- 
cipline, a caress  or  blow  being  the  only  reward  or  pun- 
ishment. It  was  a common  practice  to  give  away 
children,  towards  whom  a community  of  feeling,  the 
result  of  the  very  promiscuous  intercourse  of  the  sexes, 
must  necessarily  have  existed.  Children  could  seldom 
determine  their  real  parents.  Dogs  and  swine  were 
quite  as  frequently  objects  of  fondness,  and  allowed 
more  indulgences  and  better  food  than  fell  to  the  lot 
of  their  biped  companions,  their  mothers’  breasts  giving 
suck  to  the  brute  in  preference  to  the  immortal  being. 

“ The  cleanliness  of  the  islanders  has  been  much 
praised,  but  equally  without  reason.  Frequent  bath- 
ing kept  their  persons  in  tolerable  order ; but  the  same 
filthy  clothing  was  worn  while  it  would  hold  together. 
The  lodgings  of  the  common  orders  were  shared  with 
the  brutes,  and  their  bodies  were  a common  receptacle 
of  vermin.  All,  of  every  age  and  sex,  herded  in  com- 
mon ; the  same  mat  beneath  them  at  night,  and  the 
same  tap  a above.  If  a fly  perchance  alighted  on  their 
food,  their  delicate  stomachs  became  sick  ; but  the 
same  sensitive  organ  found  delicious  morsels  in  the 
raw,  uncleaned  entrails  of  animals  or  fish,  and,  the 
choicest  of  all,  in  the  fruit  of  mutual  craniological 
pickings. 

“ Oppressive  as  were  the  laws  to  the  men,  they  were 
far  more  so  upon  the  women.  Their  sex  was  but  an 
additional  motive  for  insult  and  tyranny.  The  right  of 
blood  gave  to  the  highest  female  the  power  to  rule  ; but 
she,  equally  with  the  humblest  dependant,  was  subject 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  53 

to  the  iron  law  of  the  ‘ tabus.’  Neither  could  eat  with 
men  ; their  houses  and  their  labors  were  distinct ; their 
aliment  was  separately  prepared.  A female  child  from 
birth  to  death  was  allowed  no  food  that  had  touched 
its  father’s  dish.  The  choicest  of  animal  and  vegeta- 
ble products  were  reserved  for  the  male  child,  for  the 
female  the  poorest ; and  the  use  of  many  kinds,  such 
as  pork,  turtle,  shark,  bananas,  and  cocoanut,  were  al- 
together interdicted.  Whatever  was  savory  or  pleas- 
ant man  reserved  for  his  own  palate,  while  woman 
was  made  bitterly  to  feel  her  sexual  degradation.  Her 
lot  was  even  worse  than  that  of  her  sex  generally  in 
the  southern  groups.  She  was  excused  from  no  labors 
excepting  such  as  were  altogether  too  arduous  for  her 
weaker  frame.  When  young  and  beautiful,  a victim 
of  sensuality ; when  old  and  useless,  of  brutality.” 

The  same  author  says  that  no  regular  marriage  cere- 
mony existed  among  these  savages.  Polygamy  and 
incest  were  usual.  Common  men  had  one  wife 
each,  because  they  could  not  support  two.  The 
sexes  joined  or  separated  according  to  caprice,  and 
without  regard  to  consanguinity.  Visitors  enjoyed 
extempore  nuptials  as  a necessary  exercise  of  hospi- 

talitv- 

«/ 

In  all  this  we  see  that  savageism  is  the  same  every 
where,  in  the  Pacific  as  in  old  Scandinavia. 

Dr.  Lang  (on  the  Polynesians)  says  that  these  peo- 
ple hold  their  women  as  slaves.  Human  sacrifices 
are  offered.  He  quotes  the  authority  of  a Scotch 
captain,  who  knew  the  case  of  an  old  Polynesian  wo- 

5* 


54  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


man  who  reared  an  orphan  with  the  greatest  tender- 
ness and  eare.  She  wanted  to  fatten  and  eat  the  boy, 
which  she  did.  This  almost  equals  the  patience  and 
self-denial  of  the  English  mothers,  who  pay  up  the 
regular  fee  for  their  children  in  the  burial  clubs,  until 
killing  time  has  come. 

The  Catholic  missionaries,  Rev.  Fathers  Rougeyson 
and  Colin,  say  that  among  the  savages  of  New  Cale- 
donia, woman  holds  the  lowest  position  of  perhaps 
any  in  the  world.  She  is  absolutely  a slave,  does  all 
the  work,  procures  all  the  food.  The  husband  taboos 
every  delicacy,  so  that  she  dare  not  touch  it  on  the 
peril  of  her  life.  Sometimes  she  herself  will  be  eaten, 
should  there  be  no  prisoners  to  devour. 

u A Neiv  Use  for  the  Female  Sex . — Our  correspond- 
ent on  board  the  United  States  ship  John  Adams,  in 
his  letter  published  on  Sunday,  remarks  that  the  na- 
tives of  the  Marquesas  Islands,  in  the  Pacific,  with 
whom  he  had  been  staying,  are  in  the  habit  of  wooing 
the  fairest  damsels  they  can  find,  wedding  them,  and 
then  eating  them  up.  Our  gallant  correspondent  is 
indignant  at  this  sad  misuse  of  so  much  loveliness  ; 
especially  as  the  native  pork  and  game  are  good  of 
their  kind,  and  so  plentiful  as  to  make  it  obvious  that 
no  man  need  pick  his  wife’s  ribs,  or  cut  steaks 
from  her  person,  from  necessity.  We  need  not  say 
that  we  concur  with  our  countryman  in  this  view,  not 
only  on  humane,  but  on  hygienic  grounds.  Ev- 
ery medical  man  will  vouch  that  the  flesh  of  female 
mammalia  is  less  wholesome  than  that  of  males.  We 


.THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  55 


fear  the  people  of  the  Marquesas  must  be  injuring 
their  health  by  their  unwholesome  diet. 

“ The  most  curious  feature  in  the  business  is  that 
there  is  a large  body  of  Christian  [Protestant]  mission- 
aries on  the  islands,  many  of  them  from  this  country. 
We  are  not  led  to  suppose,  indeed,  that  these  reverend 
gentlemen  are  in  the  habit  of  lunching  off  their  tender 
spouses,  nor  even  do  we  hear  of  their  accepting  invi- 
tations from  the  native  chiefs  to  partake  oY  a nice 
wife  ham,  or  a rasher  of  young  girl  broiled  with  bread 
fruit.  But  they  are  there,  and  from  the  popularity  of 
these  repasts  it  is  evident  the  missionaries  know  of 
them,  and  cannot  prevent  them.  It  would  perhaps  be 
well  for  some  of  the  gentlemen,  whose  contributions 
go  to  sustain  these  missionaries,  to  inquire  what  has 
been  done  during  the  past,  and  what  may  be  expected 
for  the  future.  We  are  aware  that,  in  May  next,  we 
shall  have,  in  the  proper  column  of  the  usual  report,  an 
exact  list  of  the  number  of  Marquesas  souls  converted 
to  grace,  and  of  those  which  are  considered  to  be  in  a 
softening  state ; we  think  it  would  be  well  to  add,  in  a 
foot  note,  a classification  of  these  fortunate  converts 
according  to  their  gastronomical  performances.  A few 
asterisks  might  do  the  business.  And  if  in  a second 
note,  merely  for  curiosity  sake,  a financial  account  was 
given,  showing — in  a word — how  much  the  salva- 
tion of  each  Marquesas’s  soul  costs  this  country,  we 
think  that  also  would  be  useful  information.”  ( New 
York  Paper.) 

Regarding  the  Australians,  a correspondent  of  the 


56  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  ANI)  CHILDREN  AMONG 

Illustrated  London  News,  March  21,  1857,  writes, — 
“ As  regards  the  religion  of  the  natives,  I believe 
their  principal  belief  is  in  an  evil  spirit,  of  which  they 
have  a great  dread,  imagining  that  it  walks  about  at 
night;  and  they  therefore  avoid,  when  dark,  the  vicin- 
ity of  the  burying  grounds.  They  frequently  bum 
their  aged  dead ; and  should  a woman  die  having  a 
young  infant,  the  living  child  is  buried  with  the 
mother.” 

Regarding  courtship,  he  says,  44  The  native,  having 
determined  on  his  future  spouse,  who  is  generally  se- 
lected from  another  tribe,  steals  upon  her  secretly, 
when  she  is  at  a little  distance  from  her  protectors, 
stuns  her  by  striking  with  a wooden  club  or  wattle,  and 
then  drags  her  away  to  his  own  tribe.  This  is  often 
the  cause  of  their  going  to  war.”  No  doubt  many  an 
Iliad  could  be  written  in  Australia  if  there  were  Ho- 
mers to  write  them. 

Another  writer  says,  44  A New  Hollander  secures 
his  bride  by  knocking  her  down  with  a club,  and 
dragging  the  prize  to  his  cave.” 

44  In  Western  Australia  the  chief  absolutely  monopo- 
lizes the  fair  sex,  the  refuse  being  left  to  the  common- 
( as  among  the  Saxon  Mormons.)  Female  chil- 
dren are  betrothed  to  men,  and  they  must  never  form 
attachments  to  any  other.  In  New  Zealand,  if  the 
future  husband  should  die,  the  betrothed  must  remain 
single.”  ( Broivri’s  New  Zealand .) 

Consequently  wife-stealing  is  the  fashion,  and  if 
the  girl  should  refuse  to  go,  or  if  the  ravisher  is  over- 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  57 

taken  by  her  friends,  he  thrusts  a spear  through  her 
flesh.  “ The  early  life  of  a young  woman  at  all  cele- 
brated for  beauty  is  generally  one  continued  series  of 
captivity  to  different  masters,  of  ghastly  wounds,  bad 
treatment  from  other  females  among  whom  she  is 
brought  a stranger  by  her  captor,”  &c.,  &c.  ( Grey's 

Journal.) 

Woman  is  much  in  the  same  condition  among  the 
Polynesians,  the  Caribs,  and  other  Indians,  the  most 
degraded  races  being  the  greatest  slaves  and  tyrants. 

Now,  according  to  the  preceding  general  review  of 
the  nations  on  the  earth,  we  observe,  first,  that  woman 
is  degraded  in  proportion  as  her  nation  is  barbarous; 
and  secondly,  we  find  that  the  nations  were  and  are 
barharous,  and  unjust,  and  cruel  to  woman  in  propor- 
tion to  their  distance  from  the  C^tic  group,  whose 
pagan  virtue  and  philosophy  foreshadowed  Christiani- 
ty^ an d where  the  church  built  her  citadel,  and  reaped 
her  richest  harvests  of  heroic  and  sanctified  souls. 

Do  the  Anglo-Saxons,  who  belonged  to  the  most 
outlandish  and  savage  tribes  in  North  Europe,  form 
an  exception  to  the  general  rule  ? If  I had  any 
respect  for  the  English  writers,  and  Prince  Albert  of 
Saxe-Gotha,  I should  make  a very  remarkable  excep- 
tion in  favor  of  Saxon  barbarians.  But  I have  no 
desire  to  flatter  these  great  persons,  and  I must  there- 
fore* put  the  Saxon  down  where  nature  placed  him 
originally,  among  the  outside  Goths. 

The  brutality  of  these  Chinese  and  Tartars  we 
shall  find  surpassed  by  the  Anglo-Saxon  pagans,  and 


58  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


their  inhuman  cowardice  equalled  by  the  Anglo-Saxon 
Christians,  when  they  gave  their  wives  and  daughters 
to  the  Danes,  and  sold  their  children  to  bondage. 
The  carnivorous  type  of  man  is  the  same  atrocious 
tyrant  and  mean  coward  all  over  the  world. 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  59 


CHAPTER  I fl. 

LEADS  TO  A COMPARISON  OF  CELTS  AND  SAXONS. 

The  position  of  the  wife  and  her  child  is  the  best  test 
of  the  position  of  a race  of  men  in  the  scale  of  hu- 
manity and  civilization.  I therefore  propose  to  give  a 
sketch  of  the  history  of  that  divine  institution  — the 
family . I undertake  the  task  of  opening  up  this  sub- 
ject, because  English  writers  have  slurred  it  over  ; for- 
eigners are  only  now  beginning  to  get  at  the  materials 
for  writing  English  history.  The  sequel  will  show 
why  Englishmen  have  not  written  a true  history  of 
their  country  and  their  race.  It  is  true  that  we  get 
a fact  from  this  writer,  and  another  from  that,  regard- 
ing the  condition  of  the  Saxon  woman. 

The  following  work  is  compiled  chiefly  from  Eng- 
lish authorities.  It  must  have  been  shame  and  fear 
of  the  result,  not  want  of  material,  that  have  prevented 
English  encyclopedists  from  giving  a full  history  of 
the  social  and  political  condition  of  women  and  chil- 
dren among  Celtic  and  Gothic  nations. 

Lest  any  one  should  accuse  me  of  partiality,  I shall 
avoid  as  much  as  possible  those  general  remarks  that 
writers  indulge  in,  as  the  result  of  their  reading. 

Unfortunately,  the  history  of  the  human  mind  and 
the  domestic  affections  has  been  overwhelmed  and 


60 


CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


eclipsed  by  the  prodigies  of  war,  and  the  spirit  of 
hero  worship,  which  seein  to  have  inspired  almost 
every  poet  and  historian.  It  is  only  by  inference  that 
we  arrive  at  some  of  the  most  important  truths  re- 
garding the  inward  life  of  a race,  and  the  domestic 
and  social  position  of  the  women  and  children  among 
the  nations  of  antiquity. 

In  my  physiological  discourses  I have  proved  to 
the  satisfaction  of  the  most  scientific  assemblies,  that 
the  Celtic  is  the  highest  type  of  mankind.  I have  now 
to  show  that  there  is  a radiating  degeneracy  of  morals 
among  the  nations,  in  proportion  to  their  distance  from 
the  Celtic  centre. 

It  is  becoming  more  evident  every  day,  that  the  an- 
cient Celtic  nations  preserved  the  elements  of  good- 
ness, and  truth,  and  faith,  and  knowledge  of  the  true 
God,  longer  than  any  other  races  on  earth;  that  this 
knowledge  of  original  truth  was  existing  among  them 
in  a great  measure  at  the  coming  of  Christ,  and  that 
the  farther  the  Christian  church  spread  from  the  Celts, 
the  more  rocky  and  barren  she  found  the  human  heart 
and  soul ; the  more  degraded  the  races,  the  more  in- 
tense the  repugnance  to  Christianity. 

The  Celtic  nations,  belonging  to  and  spreading 

* # 

from  the  Mediterranean,  were  in  a great  measure 
chained  by  the  system  of  castes , and  slavery,  and  sen- 
sual idolatry ; but  in  the  midst  of  all  this,  we  see 
flashing  out  the  principles  of  goodness  and  truth,  of 
purity  and  justice,  which  no  other  race  on  the  face  of 
the  earth  possessed  before  the  Eternal  Light  came 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  61 

into  the  world.  The  Hindoo  philosopher  alone  rivals 
the  allied  types  of  Greek  and  Druid  sages.  But  the 
Hindoo  woman  was  a slave  compared  with  the  west- 
ern Celtic  maid. 

The  Celtic  nations  of  South-west  Europe,  while 
they  exercised  a strict  mastery  over  their  families,  still 
cherished  their  children,  and  allowed  more  or  less  hon- 
or and  freedom  to  their  women.  The  Jews,  the  Arabs, 
the  Persians,  and  Hindoos  were  less  humane  in  their 
family  life  than  the  Celts,  but  far  superior  to  the 
Gothic  and  Turkish  races.  The  Tartars  and  Chinese 
are  still  more  cruel  and  contemptuous  to  their  wives 
and  children,  and  the  Australians  and  New  Zealanders 
are  the  most  brutal  of  all  the  races  in  that  direction 
of  the  globe.  * 

The  same  gradation  of  family  tyranny  pervades 
Africa,  the  most  southern  women  being  the  most  de- 
graded, and  the  matrimonial  idea  least  perfect. 

These  remarks  apply  equally  to  the  red  men  of 
America.  The  Peruvians  and  Mexicans  are  geograph- 
ically placed  in  the  temperate,  mediate,  and  fertile  re- 
gions of  the  new  world,  as  the  Celts  are  in  the  old. 
These  Peruvians  and  Mexicans  are  agricultural,  and 
their  anatomical,  moral,  and  social  characteristics  are 
more  like  the  Celts  than  are  any  other  tribes  of  red 
men.  The  Peruvian  and  Mexican  women  held  the 
highest  position  of  their  sex  in  aboriginal  America. 

Modern  research  has  proved  that  the  ancient  high- 
caste  Egyptians  were  the  same  race  as  the  Phoeni- 
cians, Milesians,  and  Greeks,  and  other  Celts.  In 

6 


G2  CONDITION  OP  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


fact,  the  Mediterranean  shores  were  a family  circle  of 
Celtic  nations.  Ia  Ireland,  as  in  Egypt,  women  held 
a very  high  social  and  moral  position. 

Mr.  Smith  O’Brien,  in  Notes  of  Travel,  quotes  44  a su- 
perstition which  formerly  prevailed  in  Ireland  as  well 
as  in  Greece,  and  which  is  not  yet  entirely  eradicated 
from  either  country.  In  order  to  guard  against  the 
effect  of  the  4 evil  eye,’  it  is  necessary,  if  any  one  ad- 
mire very  much  a young  child,  that  the  nurse  should 
affect  to  spit  in  its  face,  and  exclaim,  4 God  bless  it ! ’ ” 

I quote  this  little  family  feature,  because  such  a pe- 
culiar nursery  custom,  preserved  in  distant  nations  long 
separated,  is  as  powerful  a proof  of  common  origin  as 
the  stone  monuments,  the  language,  politics,  religion, 
&c.,  quoted  as  proof  of  the  consanguinity  of  the  Mi- 
lesians and  the  Greeks. 

The  fine  oval  head,  small  face,  with,  in  many  cases, 
a full,  generous  mouth,  were  characteristic  of  the  an- 
cient Egyptians  and  Greeks,  as  well  as  the  Irish.  The 
moral  instincts  of  these  races  are  also  similar. 

It  is  impossible  to  conceive  society  to  exist  without 
the  care  of  children,  which  presupposes  a rule  for  as- 
certaining them.  The  first  sovereigns  of  all  nations, 
therefore,  are  said  to  have  instituted  marriage  — 
Menes,  the  first  king  of  Egypt;  Fohi,  the  first  sover- 
eign of  China ; Cecrops,  the  first  legislator  of  the 
Greeks.  The  earliest  laws  of  many  civilized  nations 
likewise  provided  encouragements  for  matrimony.  By 
the  Jewish  law  a married  man  was  for  the  first  year 
exempted  from  going  to  war,  and  excused  from  the 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  63 

burden  of  any  public  office.  Among  the  Peruvians  he 
was  free  for  a year  from  the  payment  of  all  taxes. 
The  respect  for  the  matrimonial  union  cannot  be  more 
clearly  evinced  than  by  the  severity  with  which  the 
greater  part  of  the  ancient  nations  restrained  the 
crime  of  adultery.  In  reality  no  moral  offence  is 
equally  pernicious  to  society. 

In  the  marriages  of  many  of  the  ancient  nations  a 
custom  prevailed  in  many  respects  more  honorable 
than  the  modern  practice.  The  husband  was  obliged 
to  purchase  his  wife,  either  by  presents  or  by  personal 
services  performed  to  her  father.  When  Abraham  sent 
Eliezar  to  demand  Rebecca  for  his  son  Isaac,  he  charged 
him  with  magnificent  presents.  Jacob  served  seven 
years  for  each  of  the  daughters  of  Laban,  who  were 
given  to  him  in  marriage.  Homer  alludes  to  this  cus- 
tom as  subsisting  in  Greece.  He  makes  Agamemnon 
say  to  Achilles  that  he  will  give  him  one  of  his  daugh- 
ters in  marriage,  and  require  no  present  in  return. 
That  the  same  custom  was  in  use  among  the  ancient 
inhabitants  of  India,  of  Spain,  Germany,  Thrace,  and 
Gaul,  appears  from  Strabo,  Tacitus,  and  many  other 
writers  ; and  the  accounts  of  modern  travellers  assure 
us  that  it  prevails  at  this  day  in  China,  Tartary,  Ton- 
quin,  among  the  Moors  of  Africa,  and  the  savages  of 
America. 

As  Herodotus  is  not  always  to  be  depended  on  in 
matters  that  did  not  fall  under  his  own  observation,  I 
know  not  whether  we  should  give  implicit  credit  to 
what  he  relates  of  a singular  practice  which  prevailed 


64  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

among  the  Assyrians,  with  respect  to  marriage; 
though  it  seems  to  have  a natural  foundation  in  the 
custom  above  mentioned,  which  prevailed  in  most  of 
the  ancient  nations.  In  every  village,  says  that  author, 
they  brought  together  once  in  the  year  all  the  young 
women  who  were  marriageable,  and  the  public  crier, 
beginning  with  the  most  beautiful,  put  them  up  to 
auction,  one  after  another.  The  rich  paid  a high  price 
for  those  whose  figure  seemed  to  them  the  most  agree- 
able ; and  the  money  raised  by  the  sale  of  these  was 
assigned  as  a portion  to  the  more  homely.  When  it 
was  their  turn  to  be  put  up  to  sale,  each  woman 
was  bestowed  on  the  man  who  was  willing  to  accept 
of  her  with  the  smallest  portion  ; but  no  man  was 
allowed  to  carry  off  the  woman  he  had  purchased,  un- 
less he  gave  security  that  he  would  take  her  to  wife  ; 
and  if  afterwards  it  happened  that  the  husband  for 
any  cause  put  away  his  wife,  he  was  obliged  to  pay 
back  the  money  he  had  received  with  her.  The  same 
author  informs  us  that  the  Assyrian  laws  were  most 
strict  in  providing  that  women  should  be  well  used  by 
their  husbands. 

After  a fine  description  of  the  first  stages  of  savage 
life,  when  man  had  scarcely  advanced  beyond  the 
brute,  the  poet  says,  “ But  when  they  began  to  build 
their  first  rude  huts,  to  clothe  themselves  in  skins,  and 
had  discovered  the  use  of  fire,  — when  first  one  woman 
was  joined  to  one  man  in  the  chaste  endearments 
of  mutual  love,  and  saw  their  own  offspring  rising 
around  them,  — then  only  did  the  ferocious  manners 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  65 

of  the  human  race  begin  to  soften.”  ( Universal 
History .) 

Were  it  necessary  to  enter  into  details,  it  might 
be  shown  that  the  Jews,  Carthaginians,  Persians,  and 
Assyrians  formed  the  links  between  the  Mediterra- 
nean and  the  outside  barbarians,  and  that  they  were 
more  sensual  and  tyrannical  over  their  women  and 
children  than  any  of  the  pure  Celtic  nations ; that 
the  Greeks,  and  more  particularly  the  Spartans,  were 
more  corrupt  and  cruel  than  the  Romans  or  the  west- 
ern Celts,  because  they  were  brought  into  closer  con- 
tact with  the  east  and  north.  The  same  remarks 
apply  to  the  Circassians,  Georgians,  and  Mahometan 
Arabs,  mixed  with  Turkish  and  Eastern  blood. 

The  Assyrians  and  Persians  were  far  more  sensual 
and  tyrannical  than  any  nation  on  the  shores  of  the 
Mediterranean.  Open  profligacy  and  incest  existed 
in  Babylon,  and  other  cities  of  that  region.  The 
Jews,  in  going  into  captivity,  were  warned  against  the 
Babylonish  abominations.  But  the  public  preaching 
and  denunciations  of  the  prophets  indicate  that  there 
was,  even  then,  a public  opinion  in  favor  of  virtue ; 
they  knew  good  from  evil,  and  were,  therefore,  the 
more  guilty.  We  see  in  these  luxurious  nations  the 
sinking  into  brutality,  which,  in  the  far  north  and  east, 
terminated  in  soulless,  unconscious  animalism . 

The  Hindoos  had  a high  idea  of  marriage  ; but  in 
many  respects  they  treated  their  women  with  great 
injustice.  (See  Sir  W.  Jones,  Dubois'  People  of  India, 
and  Halded's  Gentoo  Code.) 

6 * 


66  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

In  analyzing  the  ethics  of  India,  we  must  remember 
that  it  is  inhabited,  as  most  countries  are,  by  northern 
tyrants,  remnants  of  aboriginal  carnivorous  savages, 
and  the  higher  herbivorous  gentle  type.  Hence  we 
have  a mingling  of  sanguinary  rites  and  amiable 
institutions. 

The  northern  conquerors  of  India  — the  men  of 
Tartar  origin,  related  to  the  brutal  Huns  and  Goths  — 
no  doubt  introduced  the  most  cruel  debasements  of 
woman  into  India. 

Burke,  the  sublime  Irishman,  in  his  speech  against 
Warren  Hastings,  gives  an  account  of  cruelties  prac- 
tised by  Debi  Sing.  The  following  extract  will  serve 
to  indicate  the  system  which  the  English  have  main- 
tained in  India,  as  well  as  to  show  the  depravity  of 
the  Indians  themselves : — 

“ The  treatment  of  the  females  by  Debi  Sing  cannot 
be  described.  Dragged  forth  from  the  inmost  recesses 
of  their  houses,  which  the  religion  of  the  country  had 
made  so  many  sanctuaries,  they  were  exposed  naked 
to  public  view.  The  virgins  were  carried  to  courts  of 
justice,  where  they  might  naturally  have  looked  for 
protection  ; but  now  they  looked  for  it  in  vain  ; for,  in 
the  face  of  the  ministers  of  justice,  in  the  face  of  as- 
sembled multitudes,  in  the  face  of  the  sun,  these  ten- 
der and  modest  virgins  were  brutally  violated.  The 
only  difference  between  their  treatment  and  that  of 
their  mothers,  was,  that  the  former  were  dishonored  in 
the  face  of  day,  the  latter  in  the  gloomy  recesses  of 
their  dungeon.  Other  females  had  the  nipples  of  their 
breasts  put  in  a cleft  of  bamboo  and  torn  off.” 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS. 


67 


Now,  the  English  and  the  Nena  Sahibs  have  been 
perpetrating  all  the  brutal  atrocities  that  were  prac- 
tised by  the  English  and  Debi  Sing.  But  as  Nena 
Sahib  and  the  English  have,  like  thieves,  quarrelled 
about  the  plunder  of  the  country,  and  as  the  English 
system  now  recoils  upon  the  English,  a great  outcry 
is  of  course  made  by  “ the  friends  of  civilization.” 
The  most  brutal  and  indecent  outrages  and  tortures 
were  inflicted  upon  Indian  mothers  and  maids  by  the 
English  tax-gatherers  up  to  the  very  time  that  this 
Nena  Sahib  seized  the  rod  of  iron  from  the  British 
grasp.  We  are  assured  of  this  by  British  Blue  Books 
on  the  late  inquiry  into  the  conduct  of  the  East  India 
Company. 

Ancient  Egypt  was  called  u the  land  of  purity  and  jus- 
tice” But  in  the  later  monuments  we  see  the  obscene 
evidences  of  barbarian  conquest.  So,  when  India  be- 
came subdued  and  corrupted  with  Turkish  blood, 
cruelty  and  obscenity  supervened  upon  the  ancient 
humanity  of  the  Vedas.  I believe  that  the  researches 
of  Eastern  scholars  will  bear  me  out  in  asserting  that  the 
ancient  Brahminical,  herbivorous  race  of  India  were  a 
noble  people  until  their  religion  and  customs  were 
altered  by  the  northern  carnivorous  conquerors  of  Asia. 

In  Sharpe’s  History  of  Egypt,  we  have  evidence 
that  the  gentle  people  of  that  country  preserved  strict 
monogamy.  After  the  barbaric  conquests,  the  people 
broke  through  the  law ; but  the  priests  continued  to 
hold  it  sacred.  The  women  were  not  confined  to 
harems,  but  walked  abroad.  Dead  husbands  and 


68  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

wives  arc  represented  side  by  side,  with  his  arm 
around  her  waist.  Loguct,  in  his  Origine  des  Lois , 
proves  that  the  Egyptian  women  exercised  extraordi- 
nary sway  over  their  husbands ; and  we  may  almost 
credit  the  statement  of  Diodorus  Siculus,  that  men 
promised  obedience  to  their  wives.  (See  Westminster 
Review , October,  1855.) 

The  Egyptians  had  their  vestal  virgins  who  hon- 
ored the  chaste  moon,  beneath  whose  mild  beams  they 
chanted  in  procession. 

Plutarch  alleges  that  the  women  were  obliged  to 
go  barefoot,  in  order  to  keep  them  at  home.  This  is 
doubtful.  At  all  events,  they  did  not  stay  at  home, 
but  enjoyed  freedom  out  of  doors,  as  shown  in  the 
practice  of  public  bathing  in  the  Nile. 

They  were  free  from  harem  surveillance,  as  seen  in 
the  affair  of  Joseph  and  Potiphar’s  wife.  “ Women 
might  sit  on  the  throne  as  sovereigns ; they  governed 
the  kingdom  during  the  minority  of  their  successors, 
and  in  the  case  of  joint  sovereignty,  as  Isis  (the  god- 
dess) took  rank  over  Osiris,  so  women  sometimes 
took  rank  above  men.”  ( Sharpe .) 

Herodotus  mentions  the  name  of  an  Egyptian 
queen,  Nitocris,  who  reigned  about  1722  B,  C. 

The  Jews  and  Carthaginians  were  the  most  cruel 
and  perfidious  nations  bordering  on  the  Mediterranean  ; 
but  these,  we  must  remark,  were  ethnologically  and 
geographically  placed  between  the  Celts  and  the 
sensual  tyrants  and  savages  of  Asia  and  Africa.  The 
severe  laws  of  the  Jewish  code  show  the  degraded  na- 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS. 


69 


ture  of  that  race  which  required  such  restrictions  and 
punishments ; wives  were  severely  treated,  and  we 
shudder  at  the  murder  of  the  innocents  by  slavish 
Jews ; but  we  also  sympathize  with  “ Rachel  weeping 
for  her  children,  and  would  not  be  comforted,  because 
they  are  not.” 

Yet  the  Jews,  who  have,  generally  speaking,  crania 
like  the  Saxons  and  Goths,  — short  and  broad,  with 
large  features, — were  a cruel  people.  At  the  siege 
of  Jerusalem,  God’s  vengeance  came  down,  it  is  said, 
because  the  mother  forgot  her  love  for  her  child. 

How  far  the  Jews  had  acquired  the  blood  of  their 
more  northern  and  eastern  conquerors,  it  is  impossible 
to  say.  Certain  it  is,  they  became  corrupted  in  Baby- 
lon ; and  like  all  other  nations  near  the  Mediterranean 
primitively  virtuous,  they  became  degraded  by  con- 
tact with  the  outside  barbarism  of  the  invading  hordes 
of  the  North,  and  by  the  gilded  corruption  of  the  East. 

The  Egyptians  left  to  themselves,  the  pure  Pelasgi 
of  Athens  left  to  themselves,  the  Romans  by  them- 
selves, and  the  ancient  Irish  by  themselves,  show  us, 
in  their  lives,  the  natural  tendency  of  the  pure  Celtic 
race,  uncontaminated  by  Gothic  bestiality  or  East- 
ern sensuality. 

Monogamy  prevailed  in  Egypt,  and  woman  was 
free  and  honorable,  so  long  as  Egypt  existed  within 
herself ; so  it  was  with  the  primitive  Celtic  nations  of 
South-west  Europe. 

Jeremiah  the  prophet  (vii.  and  xliv.)  denounces  the 
Jewish  women  for  baking  cakes  for,  and  paying  horn- 


70  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


age  to,  the  Virgo  Coelcstis , or  Queen  of  Heaven,  by 
certain  impure^  rites.  But  what  does  this  prove  ? 
Certainly  that  the  Jewish  women,  through  Eastern 
influence,  had,  like  the  Carthaginians,  Greeks,  &c., 
converted  an  anciently  chaste  and  pious  ceremony 
into  a sensual  idolatry.  This  Celestial  Virgin  .was  an- 
ciently considered  a most  pure  and  chaste  being,  prob- 
ably the  prefigure  of  Mary . If  not,  why  should  she 
have  been  anciently  called  Virgo  — the  Virgin  ? 

The  Romans  — the  virtuous  Roman  pagans  — 
preserved  the  ancient  homage  to  the  Bona  Dea  — the 
Good  Goddess  — in  its  primitive  innocence. 

The  Roman  matrons  held  a yearly  meeting  in  the 
house  of  the  praetor,  where  they  celebrated  the  myste- 
ries in  honor  of  the  chaste  virgin. 

“ Berosus,  quoted  by  Eusebius,  wrote  a history  of 
Babylon  in  the  time  of  Alexander  the  Great.  He 
says  that  at  Babylon  there  was  in  early  times  a resort 
of  people  of  various  nations,  who  inhabited  Chaldaea, 
and  lived  without  rule  and  order,  like  the  beasts  of 
the  field.”  ( Bryant .) 

These  brutal  savages  were  called  by  the  Persians 
Saca ?,  or  Sasones , or  Sassini . (See  Ptolomy’s  ancient 
maps,  where  these  tribes  are  located  beside  the  canni- 
bals and  the  Sogdones,  who  used  to  eat  their  parents.) 
They  were  in  the  region  of  the  present  Kaisacks  and 
Kosacs,  fair-haired  tribes  ethnologically  related  to  our 
Saxons.  The  influx  of  these  northern  savage  merce- 
naries destroyed  the  social  fabric  of  the  East,  as  Rome 
was  afterwards  ruined  by  the  mercenary  Goths  in  the 
West. 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  71 


Christ  taught  the  sacred  and  indissoluble  nature 
of  marriage.  The  Pharisees,  objecting,  asked,  “ Why 
did  Moses  then  command  to  give  a writing  of  di- 
vorcement, and  to  put  her  away  ? He  said  unto 
them,  Moses,  because  of  the  hardness  of  your  hearts, 
suffered  you  to  put  away  your  wives,  but  from  the 
beginning  it  teas  not  so.”  [Matt,  xix.) 

Here  we  have  the  authority  of  Christ  himself,  that 
anciently  the  Jews  were  virtuous,  monogamous,  and 
affectionate.  But  either  they  were  primordially  inferi- 
or, as  they  are  now,  in  intellect  and  generous  feeling, 
or  they  became  degraded  by  contact  with  the  outside 
infidels. 

Why  the  Almighty  chose  the  Jews  for  his  people  is 
a question  for  theologians.  Certainly  they  were  a 
barbarous,  stiff-necked,  avaricious,  and  cruel  people, 
far  inferior  to  the  intellectual  and  affectionate  Egyp- 
tians. 

The  Jews  and  the  Carthaginians  formed  the  outer 
rind  of  the  Celtic  nations,  and  they  were,  in  many 
respects,  analogous  to  the  Spartans,  whose  cruelty  of 
heart  and  materialism  of  mind  formed  a contrast  to 
the  purer  Celts  of  Athens. 

The  murderous  severity  of  the  Jews  against  their 
unfortunate  women  increased  in  proportion  with  their 
own  sensuality. 

“ People  of  the  Caucasus,  at  the  present  day,  are  a 
mixture  of  Tartars,  Greeks,  &c.,  but  the  Tartar  pre- 
dominates. They  are  lean,  tawny,  hair  red  or  black, 
strong  features  small  nose  and  eyes,  unsettled  and 


72  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

barbarous.  They  sell  their  daughters  into  concubi- 
nage. Red-haired  girls  are  preferred  in  the  market.” 
( W.  Tooke.) 

The  Arabs  of  the  Mediterranean  honor  and  respect 
woman  more  than  do  the  Tartar  and  Turkish  Mahom- 
etans, who  go  so  far  in  their  barbarous  paganism  as 
to  deny  that  women  have  souls.  It  is  important  here 
to  remark  that  the  Turks  of  pure  blood  are  a red- 
haired,  green-eyed  race,  ethnologically  related  to  the 
Goths. 

It  is  certain  that  Mahomet  and  his  Arabs  believed 
that  women  have  souls,  because  they  had  emerged 
from  Judaism  and  a form  of  Christianity.  But  the 
Chinese  and  the  carnivorous  Tartars,  converted  to 
Mahometanism,  infused  their  own  native  idea  that 
woman  has  no  soul . This  most  brutalizing  of  all  doc- 
trines has  a Gotho-Tartar  origin,  not  an  Arabic. 

The  Circassian  and  Georgian  slave  market  originated 
among  the  Turkish  nations  who  mingled  with  the  Cir- 
cassians. The  women  are  valued  and  well  treated 
in  proportion  to  their  beauty  ; and  certainly  their  con- 
dition, by  all  accounts,  is  far  superior  to  that  of  the  sex 
in  the  north  of  Europe,  or  in  the  far  east  of  Asia. 

The  ancient  Assyrian,  and  Persian,  and  Indian 
woman  was  far  inferior  to  that  of  the  ancient  Roman, 
Greek,  and  Egyptian,  but  superior  to  the  Chinese,  and 
Tartars,  and  Turks,  and  Goths.  These  facts  are  well 
brought  out  by  the  writer  in  the  Westminster  Re- 
view, October,  1855 ; though  he  gives  them  in  a pro- 
miscuous heap,  and  does  not  observe  the  gradation  of 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  73 

woman’s  debasement  in  proportion  as  her  race  is  re- 
moved from  the  Celtic  type  of  the  Mediterranean. 

It  is  hard  to  say  whether  Gothic  power  and  con- 
tamination in  the  Western  Empire,  or  Turkish  tyran- 
ny  3and  debasement  in  the  East,  have  produced  the 
greater  degeneracy,  and  done  most  to  beat  down  the 
Christian  church,  and  enslave  the  noble  Celtic  aborigi- 
nes. The  Christian  Celtic  powers  of  Europe  are  now 
in  the  ascendant.  The  eagle  of  France  soars  excel- 
sior, but  God  knows  what  ensanguined  rivers  have  yet 
to  flow,  and  what  generations  have  yet  to  sutler, 
before  the  tiger  blood  is  eliminated  from  European 
veins,  and  the  carnivorous  Goth  has  fulfilled  his  desti- 
ny of  destruction. 

The  Gothic  and  Turkish  hordes  are  ethnologically 
related.  Both,  when  unmixed,  have  greenish,  gray,  or 
blue  eyes,  red  or  sandy  hair,  broad,  bullet  head.  Both 
are  carnivorous,  treacherous,  bloody,  and  brutal.  Both 
are  cruel  and  tyrannical.  Both  delighted  to  buy  and 
sell  women,  and  to  brutalize  them,  to  whip,  mutilate, 
and  kill  them. 

The  Georgian  women  were  most  easily  degraded, 
because  they  are  a half  Turkish  breed.  But  the  pure 
Celtic  woman  of  Greece,  with  her  noble  physique, 
blue  eyes  and  dark  hair, — peculiarities  which  belong 
also  to  her  Milesian  sisters  in  Ireland,  — resisted  the 
utter  debasement  of  the  Turk,  as  the  Irish  have  re- 
pelledjthe  Anglo-Saxon  pollution.  'THe  Engli sti7'alr 
though  they  pretend  to  monogamy,  are  greater  liber- 
tines than  the  Turks,  and  far  more  disposed  to  degrade 

7 


74  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

and  abandon  their  victims.  In  the  present  day,  we 
find  that  the  old  ferocity  of  the  Turk  is  greatly  sof- 
tened, and  that  he  treats  the  fair  sex  with  much  great- 
er respect,  and  a higher  idea  of  honor,  than  we  find 
among  the  English.  Excepting  Paris,  the  rendezvous 
of  Europe,  and  Dublin  and  Anglo-Orange  Belfast,  the 
head  quarters  of  pious,  loyal  Saxondom  in  Ireland, 
we  cannot  find  in  any  Catholic  Celtic  country  that 
open,  promiscuous,  and  general  profligacy  that  charac- 
terizes even  the  small  towns  and  villages  of  England, 
Germany,  and  Sweden.  (See  Laing , Key , &c.) 

Of  the  Turkish  harems,  Sir  James  Porter  says, 
u Whence  the  idea  of  the  transcendent  beauty  of  the 
Turkish  women  has  arisen,  it  is  difficult  to  say,  unless 
it  be  from  the  warm  imaginations  of  inventive  travel- 
lers, who  first  raised  these  beauteous  forms,  sketched 
their  charms,  and  became  enamoured  with  originals 
they  never  saw. 

“ Hence,  throughout  Christendom,  the  fair  Circas- 
sian has  been  the  subject  of  romance  and  song  ; when 
perhaps  there  are  not  two  Christians  who  ever  saw 
one  of  these  Venuses.  It  is  certainly  impossible  in 
Turkey,  for,  from  infancy  to  old  age,  scarce  a single 
trace  of  a Turkish  woman’s  face  is  perceptible.  No 
adult  maiden  is  ever  visible,  and  no  married  woman, 
except  to  their  parents,  brother,  or  husband.”  ? 

All  a stranger  can  see  of  them  is  black  or  blue 
eyes.  The  author  shows  that  the  stories  about  in- 
trigues with  Turkish  women  are  fabulous,  as  the  ha- 
rems are  totally  impregnable,  and  the  women  are  in 
reality  shy  and  modest. 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  75 

“ The  Greek  women  are  not  tied  down  to  the  rigor- 
ous observance  of  Turkish  restraint;  they  visit  fre- 
quently, and,  except  in  the  street,  their  faces  are  not 
muffled  up  in  the  macremma.  Of  these  we  may 
speak  with  certainty ; they  have,  for  the  most  part, 
good  features,  and  pleasing  countenances,  but,  in 
general,  rather  a tanned  than  a fair  complexion.” 
England  is  more  barbarous  than  Turkey.  Here  is  an 
account  of  the  Turks  by  Sir  James  Porter:  — 

u A man,  meeting  a woman  in  the  street,  turns  his 
head  from  her,  as  if  it  were  forbidden  to  look  on  her ; 
they  seem  to  detest  an  impudent  woman,  to  shun  and 
avoid  her.  Any  one,  therefore,  among  the  Christians, 
who  may  have  discussions  or  altercations  with  the 
Turks,  if  he  has  a woman  of  spirit,  or  a virago,  for  his 
wife,  sets  her  to  revile  and  browbeat  them,  and  by 
these  means  not  unfrequently  gains  his  point. 

“ The  highest  disgrace  and  shame  would  attend  a 
Turk  who  should  rashly  lift  his  hand  against  a woman  ; 
all  he  can  venture  to  do,  is  to  treat  her  with  harsh  and 
contemptuous  words,  or  to  march  off.  The  sex  lay 
such  stress  on  this  privilege,  that  they  are  frequently 
apt  to  indulge  their  passion  to  excess,  to  be  most  un- 
reasonable in  their  claims,  and  violent  and  irregular 
in  the  pursuit  of  them.  They  will  importune,  tease, 
and  insult  a judge  on  the  bench,  or  even  the  vizier  at 
his  divan ; the  officers  of  justice  do  not  know  how  to 
resent  their  turbulence ; and  it  is  a general  observa- 
tion that,  to  get  rid  of  them,  they  often  let  them  gain 
their  cause.  * * * 


76  CONDITION  OP  WOMEN  ANI)  CHILDREN  AMONG 


44  I have  heard  it  avowed  by  a person  of  great  ve- 
racity, who  had  lived  for  some  years  in  a^sultaivs  ha- 
rem of  the  blood  royal,  that  it  was  impossible  for 
women  to  behave  with  more  decency  and  modesty 
than  the  Turkish  ladies,  and  that  they  treated  each 
other  with  the  greatest  politeness.  In  families  of  the 
higher  class,  where  education  is  more  extended,  while 
reading  their  own  language  or  the  Arabic  is  care- 
fully cultivated,  precepts  of  virtue  and  morality,  of 
gentle  demeanor  and  good  breeding,  of  chastity  of 
manners,  with  whatever  decorates  the  sex,  are  likely 
to  be  inculcated.” 

Now,  will  any  candid  Englishman  presume  to  say 
that  the  average  condition  of  woman  is  higher  in 
Saxondom  than  it  is  in  the  realm  of  Tartars  ? 

Women  are  secluded  in  Turkey,  but  they  are  pro- 
tected and  highly  respected.  Women  are  free  in  Eng- 
land, but  they  are  degraded  and  despised. 

A few  more  examples  of  woman’s  condition  in  the 
East  and  North  may  be  interesting. 

The  Morlachians  and  other  descendants  of  the 
northerns  still  retain  their  women  in  slavery.  Wife- 
beating is  the  custom.  Being  treated  like  beasts  of 
burden,  and  expected  to  endure  submissively  every  spe- 
cies of  hardship,  they  naturally  become  very  dirty  and 
careless  in  their  habits.  The  wretched  wife,  after  she 
has  labored  hard  all  day,  is  obliged  to  lie  upon  the 
floor,  (as  a dog  would  beside  the  master’s  bed.) 
When  the  Morlachians  have  occasion  to  speak  of  a 
woman  before  any  respectable  person,  they  always 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  77 

say,  “ Saving  your  presence,”  as  if  apologizing  for  the 
mention  of  ^things  so  disgusting,  and  in  answer  to  in- 
quiries, reply,  “ It  is  my  wife  — excuse  the  word.” 
(Lydia  Maria  Child.) 

The  Tyrolese  form  a remarkable  contrast  to  the 
above,  in  their  domestic  virtues  and  maternal  affection. 

In  Sweden  and  Lapland,  drunkenness  among  wo- 
men is  common.  In  the  latter  country,  “ a lover  can- 
not make  a more  acceptable  present  to  the  girl  of  his 
choice  than  a bottle  of  brandy.” 

In  North  Holland,  there  is  no  modesty  in  courting. 

In  Prussia,  there  is  what  is  called  a left-hand  mar- 
riage, a kind  of  concubinage  degrading  to  the  woman, 
and  established  by  law. 

A letter  published  in  the  New  York  Daily  Times, 
dated  Cassel,  Wednesday,  May  6,  1857,  contains  the 
following  regarding  the  elector  or  king : — 

“ He  purchased  his  wife  of  a Prussian  officer,  who 
would  give  her  up  only  for  gold ; and  when  the  officer 
made  the  bargain,  he  said,  4 You  must  purchase  her 
children,  for  I will  have  nothing  to  do  with  any  of 
them.’  So  he  purchased  the  children,  and  they  have 
cost  him  a fortune  every  year  since,  by  their  extrava- 
gance. So  the  beautiful  woman  was  divorced  from 
her  husband  for  the  sake  of  marrying  one  of  a little 
higher  rank,  and  as  far  as  private  interest  and  family 
happiness  is  concerned,  there  seems  to  be  no  regret  in 
the  matter.” 

Again  he  says,  “ An  historian  of  the  Seven  Years’ 
War,  in  speaking  of  the  devastation,  says, 4 An  officer 

ry  * 


78  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


rode  through  seven  villages  of  Hesse  after  the  peace 
of  1763,  and  met  only  a single  man,  and  he  a clergy- 
man ; ’ and  adds,  that  ‘ women  were  digging  and 
ploughing  in  the  fields.'  Whether  this  was  the  cause 
and  the  commencement  of  c women  ploughing  in  the 
fields,’  we  do  not  know;  but  we  do  not  pass  a field  in 
Germany  now  where  they  are  not.  The  men  are  all 
required  for  soldiers,  and,  dressed  in  gay  uniforms,  are 
practising  military  tactics,  or  idling  away  their  time  in 
barracks.  We  have  often  seen  it  alluded  to  as  an  evi- 
dence of  oppression  and  cruelty,  that  women  perform 
the  labor  of  men.  To  work  in  the  sun  makes  them 
look  coarse,  but  the  labor  itself  is  not  more  exhausting 
than  many  kinds  which  belong  exclusively  to  the 
house.  To  wash,  and  iron,  and  cook,  day  after  day,  is 
considered  womanly  employment;  but,  compared  with 
it,  digging  and  hoeing  are  trifling  affairs.” 

Women  labor  in  Bohemia . — 66  The  men  walk  up- 
right, with  unburdened  backs,  while  their  women  lose 
all  grace,  all  comeliness,  nay,  even  the  very  form  their 
Creator  gave  them,  beneath  the  fardels  they  bear  alone. 
Not  an  hour  since,  we  saw  from  our  windows  an  in- 
stance of  the  merciless  fashion  after  which  they  are 
permitted  by  their  husbands  to  abuse  their  feeble 
powers,  in  a couple  passing  beneath  our  windows.  A 
woman,  the  heavy  basket  — familiar  to  all  who  visit 
these  parts  — strapped  to  her  back,  was  bearing  therein 
a more  than  sufficient  load  for  one  stronger  than  she 
seemed  to  be ; but  on  her  left  arm  she  carried  a pig  — 
no  less  ! — which  she  maintained  there  with  evident 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  79 

difficulty ; she  grasped  the  muzzle  of  the  animal  with 
her  right  hand,  (thus  drowning  its  cries,  in  her  respect 
for  the  repose,  or,  rather,  the  gentility,  — save  the  mark  ! 
— of  those  before  whose  dwelling  she  was  passing,  poor 
soul !)  while  her  own  slight  frame  was  shaking  and 
quivering,  as  she  tottered  along,  with  the  immoderate 
exertions  she  was  making.  And  the  man’s  share  in 
all  this  — what  was  it?  Why,  he  carried  the  rope  by 
which  one  leg  of  his  pig  was  bound  ! ” ( Travels  in 

Bohemia .) 

Perhaps  it  will  be  said  by  the  Saxe- Gotha  writers 
that  Christianity  has  only  degraded  woman  in  Russia, 
where  they  are  not  only  chattels,  but  used  as  beasts 
of  burden,  and  made  to  do  the  most  severe  drudgery, 
such  as  paving  roads,  &c.  Those  who  have  read  the 
persecutions  of  the  nuns  of  Minsk  can  estimate  the 
Russian’s  idea  of  woman’s  dignity.  The  tender  ladies 
were  stripped  naked  and  flogged,  according  to  Rus- 
sian custom.  They  had  to  act  as  masons’  laborers, 
carrying  bricks  and  lime,  wheeling  barrows,  &c.  It  is 
said  that  a Russian  bride  presents  her  husband  with  a 
stick  for  her  own  correction ; and  none  are  considered 
loving  spouses  but  those  who  beat  their  wives.  This 
is  no  doubt  an  exaggeration  in  the  present  day ; yet  it 
is  significant  of  popular  feeling,  and  of  former  usage. 

An  English  writer  in  Household  Words  ridicules  the 
notion  of  Englishmen  selling  their  wives.  I am  re- 
minded of  the  latest  example  of  wife-buying  in  the 
case  of  the  Marquis  of  Chandos,  who  purchased  his  last 
wife  in  the  public  market  from  an  English  boor. 


80  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

In  this  same  Household  Words,  the  same  writer,  if 
I recollect  right,  shows  that  flogging  women  is  now  as 
common  in  Russia  as  it  formerly  was  in  England ; it 
being  a usual  practice  to  send  servant  girls  to  the  po- 
lice office,  in  Russian  towns,  to  have  them  whipped, 
naked. 

In  a book  called  Journal  of  a Residence  in  Norway, 
by  Samuel  Laing,  the  author  says  that  in  Christia- 
nia, he  saw  the  galley  slaves  working  along  with  free 
laborers.  He  saw  a party  of  them  marched  into  a 
house  from  which  he  had  before  heard  music,  with 
female  voices,  with  which  the  clanking  of  the  chains 
did  not  exactly  harmonize.  “ They  seemed  chained, 
too,  in  a brutal  way,  with  iron  collars  round  their  necks 
and  legs,  which  have  projections,  that  must  prevent 
their  resting  in  any  position.”  This  is  “ a daily  spec- 
tacle which  deadens  human  feeling  and  sympathy.” 
These  malefactors  talk  freely  with  the  women  and 
children  in  the  streets  ; “ they  lose  all  sense  of  their 
disgrace,  and  perhaps  the  citizens  do  the  same.” 

The  author  says  that  the  proportion  of  illegitimate 
to  legitimate  children  is  about  one  in  five. 

Illegitimates  are  rendered  legitimate  by  the  subse- 
quent marriage  of  their  parents  ; and  a father  may, 
previous  to  his  contracting  a marriage  with  another 
party,  declare  that  his  children  are  to  be  held  leniti- 

o 

mate. 

Dr.  Clark  and  Mr.  Derwent  Conway  observed  in  Nor- 
way that  a great  deal  of  laborious  drudgery  is  im- 
posed upon  women,  and  that  even  ladies  are  in  the 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  81 

position  of  domestics,  never  sitting  at  table,  but  wait- 
ing on  the  guests. 

There  must  be  a change  for  the  better  lately,  as  re- 
cent travellers  do  not  chronicle  this  state  of  affairs 
among  the  higher  class,  at  least,  who  have  acquired 
ideas  of  modern  civilization.  But  that  women  were 
held  in  a servile  state  even  until  lately,  is  strong  proof 
of  the  ancient  degradation  of  the  Scandinavian  women. 

The  Norse  Folk , by  C.  L.  Brace . 

The  following  notes  from  Mr.  C.  Loring  Brace,  on 
the  moral  status  of  Scandinavia,  are  to  be  relied  on 
as  within  the  truth,  the  author  being  an  evangelical 
Protestant,  and  Anglo-Saxon  in  his  prejudices.  His  gos- 
pel readings  and  abolitionism,  &c.,  we  may  pass  over. 
Mr.  Brace  gives  a long  extract  from  old  Scandian  his- 
tory, showing  how  Christianity  was  introduced  by  the 
sword,  and  maintained  by  conquest.  Religion  never 
penetrated  the  hearts  of  these  carnivora.  Of  their 
moral  sincerity  in  the  present  day,  we  may  judge  by  the 
statistics  given  by  the  author.  Mr.  Brace  also  gives 
the  substance  of  a conversation  he  had  with  an  evan- 
gelical Norse  lady  regarding  the  present  state  of  the 
Lord’s  vineyard  among  her  people. 

“ In  this  lady’s  judgment,  — and  she  had  a clear, 
sharp  sense,  — a great  deal  of  the  religion  of  the  farm- 
ers and  peasants  was  merely  religiosity  — a strong 
feeling  of  reverence,  and  a susceptibility  to  ceremoni- 
als. It  seemed  to  her  that  their  consciences  had  some- 
thing of  the  toughness  and  hardness  of  their  bodies. 


82  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


They  were  able  to  endure  any  thing  physically,  and 
sufTerings,  or  trials,  or  thoughts  of  death,  did  not 
affect  them  as  they  do  others.  They  came  in  crowds 
to  church  and  communion,  but  she  could  not  say  that 
religion,  in  her  observation,  had  a strong  hold  over 
their  practical  life  ; still  there  were  exceptions,  very 
beautiful  ones,  and  the  evil  might  be  no  greater  than 
it  is  every  where. 

“ They  have  been  converted  to  Christianity,  and  a 
singular  movement  has  commenced  within  a few  years 
among  them,  of  which  I cannot  as  yet  speak  with 
confidence.  It  began  with  terrible  outrages  and  fanat- 
icisms ; the  murder  of  the  sheriff  of  the  district,  and 
an  attempt  to  offer  a Protestant  clergyman  as  a 
bloody  sacrifice  to  God  — the  poor  creatures  believing 
themselves  acting  under  divine  inspiration.  They 
were  punished  ; and  since  that  time,  under  the  influ- 
ence of  Swedish  missionaries,  the  religious  excitement 
has  taken  a more  healthy  direction. 

“ The  feeling  towards  the  Fins  and  Laps  seemed 
to  be  very  much  like  the  feeling  of  an  intelligent  west- 
ern company  towards  the  Indians.  The  poetry  of  the 
race  is  quite  obscured  in  their  debased  or  drunken 
habits.  The  Laps  are  simply  ignorant,  dirty  men, 
who  live  in  a barbarous  way  among  reindeer,  or  who 
catch  the  cod  and  the  ducks  which  the  Norwegians 
want.” 

Education  in  Sweden  is  universal,  and  like  the  Eng- 
lish, the  Swedes  are  fond  of  cant  tract  societies,  (dis- 
tributing millions  of  tracts,)  Sunday  schools,  inner 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  83 


missions,  &c.  Mr.  Brace  shows  from  statistics  that 
the  ratio  of  suicides  is  immense  — in  1849,  one  out  of 
every  four  hundred  persons,  or  probably  one  out  of 
every  two  hundred  adult  men  and  women. 

“ Out  of  every  hundred  children  bom  into  the  world 
in  the  city,  nearly  fifty  are  illegitimate ; in  the  whole 
kingdom,  one  out  of  nearly  eleven.  The  consump- 
tion of  human  life  in  the  Swedish  capital,  and  the 
prevalence  of  vice,  are  facts  not  to  be  dissociated. 

“ The  whole  kingdom  appears  to  have  been  steadily 
retrograding  since  1780,  in  this  regard ; in  1840  there 
being  fifty  per  cent,  more  illegitimate  births  to  legiti- 
mate than  in  the  above  year,  and  a worse  ratio  than 
in  France.  However,  there  are  extenuating  circum- 
stances in  regard  to  Stockholm,  which  do  not  appear 
in  figures,  and  it  is  very  possible  that  Stockholm  is 
not  materially  worse  than  New  York,  or  Paris. 

“ There  are  scarcely  any  houses  of  ill  fame,  it  should 
be  remembered,  in  the  city.  There  is  not  such  a des- 
perate, abandoned,  God-forsaken  class  of  women  as 
in  our  large  cities.  The  grisettes  of  Stockholm  pre- 
serve some  decency,  and  have  a chance,  at  least,  of  a 
better  life.  They  are  occupied  as  seamstresses,  or  ser- 
vants, or  shop-women,  and  frequently,  after  many  years 
of  unlawful  companionship,  are  married.  The  cause 
of  these  numerous  liaisons  is  probably  here,  as  with 
us,  the  difficulty  of  woman’s  earning  an  honorable 
support.  The  laws,  too,  of  former  times,  which  for- 
bade the  clergy  from  investigating  the  illegitimate 
births,  must  have  furnished  an  additional  safeguard  to 


84  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

the  guilty  parties.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind  also, 
that  the  parents  of  an  illegitimate  child,  in  Sweden, 
are  frequently  married  subsequently  to  the  entry  of 
the  name  on  the  church  books,  so  that  an  exact  judg- 
ment of  the  present  state  of  morals  of  the  people  can- 
not be  formed  from  these  certainly  rather  alarming 
statistics. 

u It  is  significant,  in  this  connection,  that  the  Swe- 
dish prayer  book,  alone,  perhaps,  of  all  the  church 
books  of  the  world,  has  a prayer  for  “ mothers  who 
have  been  deceived  by  promise  of  marriage.’  ” 

The  apology  offered  for  this  disgraceful  state  of  so- 
ciety by  the  author  is  singularly  characteristic  of  Saxe- 
Gotha  writers.  He  makes  it  a merit  that  prostitutes 
are  not  abandoned  characters,  but  that  they  enjoy  so- 
cial equality  in  every  respect,  and  often  get  married 
after  years  of  public  infamy,  or  what  would  be  con- 
sidered such  in  a Celtic  nation.  Englishmen,  like  their 
northern  cousins,  do  not  scruple  to  marry  prostitutes. 

It  appears  also  that  these  northern  sisters  of  ours 
— the  single,  the  married,  and  the  unmarried  who  have 
children — wear  head-dresses  peculiar  to  each;  a last 
proof  that  female  modesty  is  unknown. 

Mr.  Brace  says  that  the  stumpy  form  of  the  Norwe- 
gian women  is  the  effect  of  hard  drudgery.  “ A great 
want  of  attention  to  women  is  very  marked  here  in 
Norway.”  He  describes  the  people  of  Scandinavia 
generally  as  very  filthy  in  their  persons  and  habits,  and 
in  their  hovels.  Elsewhere  he  says  that  the  ladies  bore 
themselves  in  the  presence  of  their  husbands  as  if 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  85 

they  were  accustomed  to  be  treated  on  terms  of 
equality.  Something  astonishing!  Every  thing  is 
delightful  among  our  northern  ancestors,  especially  the 
ancient  dignity  of  the  female  sex. 

In  the  counties  of  Upper  Romerike,  Osterdal,  Hede- 
rnark,  and  Gudbrandsdal,  the  number  of  school  chil- 
dren to  each  teacher,  in  1840,  was  one  hundred  and 
three;  the  proportion  of  non-attendants  on  schools 
was  more  than  nine  per  cent.  The  expenses  of 
schools  in  these  districts  are  about  seven  cents  for 
each  person.  The  population  in  the  whole  province 
to  each  preacher  is  larger  than  in  any  other  province. 

In  the  same  counties,  to  every  one  hundred  mar- 
riages there  are  ninety-two  illegal  liaisons , bearing 
children,  among  the  women,  and  eighty-five  among  the 
men  of  the  laboring  class.  Among  the  freeholders, 
the  proportion  with  the  men  is  only  twenty-six  per 
cent,  and  with  the  women  twelve  per  cent. 

It  is  doubtful  whether  any  district  in  Europe  will 
show  among  the  laboring  class  an  equal  immorality. 

Proportion  of  illegitimate  to  legitimate  children,  at 
Stockholm,  1 to  2.25  ; in  the  other  cities,  1 to  5.03  ; 
in  the  country,  1 to  1.434. 

Stillborn  children  in  1850,  three  thousand  six  hun- 
dred and  fifty-two. 

Drunkenness  is  so  radical  a vice  in  Norway  and 
Sweden,  that  liquor  laws  are  necessary.  The  people, 
in  fact,  have  no  moral  power,  no  self-control,  and  re- 
quire the  same  regime  as  the  Red  Indians. 

A minister  informed  Mr.  Brace  that  formerly,  in  his 

8 


86  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

parish,  the  farmers  used  to  bring  their  brandy  bottles 
and  knives  to  church,  and  perhaps  to  the  communion 
altar;  then,  after  service,  they  would  take  their  meals 
on  the  grass  before  the  church,  drink,  quarrel,  and 
sometimes  have  very  disagreeable  scenes. 

Every  tenth  child  in  Norway  is  illegitimate.  Lov- 
ers are  allowed  to  visit  servant  maids  or  peasant  girls 
on  Saturday  nights.  This  is  an  old  Scandinavian 
custom,  called  fria.  In  New  England  it  was  called 
bundling •,  and  the  author  says  that  it  is  probable  that 
it  was  introduced  by  the  Norwegians  who  settled  in 
Northumberland.  It  is  equally  probable,  however, 
that  it  came  from  Wales.  The  author  says  that  no 
harm  comes  of  this  custom  of  allowing  young  un- 
married people  to  go  abed  together ; yet  he  afterwards 
contradicts  himself  in  the  Appendix,  where,  after  giv- 
ing copious  statistics  of  crime,  he  says,  — 

“ It  will  be  observed  in  these  statistics  that  Norway, 
in  respect  of  sexual  morality,  has  been  steadily  retro- 
grading since  the  beginning  of  this  century.  In  the 
four  years  preceding  1855,  every  tenth  child  born  in  the 
whole  country  was  illegitimate  ! and  in  the  four  years 
preceding  1850,  the  number  of  unlawful  connections 
between  the  sexes  amounted  to  one  third  of  the  whole 
number  of  marriages. 

“ It  will  also  be  observed  in  the  succeeding  statistics 
that  the  immorality  keeps  very  even  pace  with  the 
want  of  religious  opportunities,  and  that  the  most 
vice  prevails  where  are  the  fewest  preachers  to  the 
population.  The  singular  custom  of  the  fria  is  ob- 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  87 


served  in  many  districts  of  Norway ; and  I am  in- 
formed by  the  statician,  Mr.  Sundt,  from  whom  these 
facts  are  obtained,  that  the  proportion  of  unlawful 
births  is  in  almost  precise  relation  to  the  extent  of  this 
custom,  as  is  certainly  to  be  expected.” 


88  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


CHAPTER  IV. 

DE  MORIBUS  GERMANORUM. 

The  British  oligarchy,  and  their  servile  press  and 
flunky  authors,  having  committed  themselves,  through 
spite  and  policy,  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  theory  of  superi- 
ority, feel  bound  to  attribute  every  thing  glorious  in 
human  history  to  a Gothic  source.  The  Germanic 
and  Anglo-American  writers  and  orators  gladly  re- 
echo the  English  sentiments. 

Van  Amringe,  an  American  writer  on  the  natural 
history  of  man,  says,  that  44  the  Germans  saved  Chris- 
tianity and  the  world  from  destruction  and  barbarism, 

and  woman  from  slavery.-’  This  bold  assertion  he 

•/ 

thinks  it  unnecessary  to  sustain  by  any  evidence ; he 
has  the  prejudiced  ear  of  the  public,  and  that  is  suf- 
ficient. 

Mrs.  Child’s  work  on  the  44  Condition  of  Woman” 
supplies  many  important  facts,  though  ill  arranged 
and  without  leading  to  any  particular  moral  or  prin- 
ciple. She  is  elaborate  on  the  Greeks,  Romans,  &c., 
but,  like  all  Engliiied  writers,  miserably  dark  regarding 
northern  women.  This  is  not  to  be  wondered  at, 
when  we  know  that  the  great  point  with  English  his- 
torians is,  not  to  expose,  but  to  conceal,  the  true  his- 
tory of  their  race — not  merely  to  conceal,  but  to 
belie  it. 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  89 

In  the  usual  strain  of  Saxonism,  Mrs.  Child  says, 
“ The  Goths  were  remarkable  for  purity  of  manners. 
Their  laws  punished  with  heavy  fines  the  most  trifling 
departure  from  scrupulous  respect  towards  women.” 
Why  were  these  heavy  fines  necessary,  if  the  Goths 
were  naturally  chaste  and  gallant  ? Mrs.  Child  forgets 
to  say  that  these  laws  sprang  out  of  Christianity,  and 
are  a proof  that  nothing  but  the  severest  pains  and 
penalties  could  restrain  the  Gotho- Saxon  instincts. 

“ After  the  conquest  of  Rome,”  she  adds,  “ they 
[the  Goths]  were  accustomed  to  say,  ‘ Though  we  pun- 
ish profligacy  in  our  own  countrymen,  we  pardon  it  in 
the  Romans,  because  they  are  by  nature  and  educa- 
tion weak,  and  incapable  of  reaching  to  our  sublimity 
of  virtue.’  ” If  the  Goths  did  in  reality  utter  such 
fulsome  bombast,  I should  not  be  surprised ; their  de- 
scendants in  England,  the  most  immoral  and  cruel  of 
white  races,  use  the  very  same  language  at  this  day. 

It  is  amusing  to  see  with  what  coolness  these  Saxon 
writers  transfer  the  remarks  of  Tacitus  upon  the  Rhine, 
and  apply  them  to  their  own  Scandinavian  and  North 
European  savage  ancestry.  Yea,  they  hand  over  to 
them  the  original  credit  of  all  the  Christian  virtues,  of 
which  the  Saxons  and  other  Goths  were  the  most 
deadly  and  persistent  enemies. 

Let  us  begin  to  read  a chapter  in  any  of  the  An- 
glican writers,  regarding  the  ancient  northerns,  and 
immediately  we  find  ourselves  not  among  the  original 
savages , but  in  the  company  of  the  half-converted 
Christians . 


8 * 


90  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

In  order  to  prove  that  the  Saxon  and  Germanic  race 
honored  the  fair  sex,  and  were  otherwise  humanized, 
they  slyly  draw  evidence  from  the  middle  ages,  and 
from  Christian  history.  All  the  time,  the  ignorant 
reader  is  under  the  impression  that  the  author  con- 
tinues, as  he  began,  to  describe  the  original  and  native 
character  of  the  Goth. 

- Falsehood  distorts  the  plainest  facts  in  history. 
Frygga,  their  ancient  goddess,  that  the  decent  pen 
cannot  describe,  is  put  on  the  same  footing  as  Juno,  “ in 
whose  temples  sacred  fire  was  kept  burning,  watched 
by  virgin  prophetesses.”  There  is  no  evidence  to 
prove  that  the  Saxons  had  devoted  virgins . Mrs. 
Child  cannot  point  to  a fragment  of  evidence  that  the 
northern  savages  had  any  temples  in  their  primeval 
swamps.  Their  instinct  was  not  to  build,  but  to  de- 
stroy temples. 

All  we  know  regarding  the  northern  women  is  found 
in  their  history,  after  they  came  within  the  pale  of 
Christianity  and  civilization.  The  picture  is  lamenta- 
ble. The  women  were  like  the  Indian  squaws  — evi- 
dently not  so  well  treated ; they  were  not  allowed  to 
eat  with  their  masters ; they  were  obliged  to  follow 
them,  of  course,  everywhere,  carrying  the  burden,  even 
to  the  field  of  battle,  where  they  generally  “ mixed  in,” 
and  fought  like  wildcats. 

On  one  occasion,  Mrs.  Child  says,  “ they  laid  hold 
of  the  Roman  shields,  caught  at  the  swords  with  their 
naked  hands,  and  suffered  themselves  to  be  hacked 
and  hewed  to  pieces,  rather  than  give  up  one  inch  of 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  91 

ground.”  Beautiful  picture  of  feminine  heroism ! 
This  masculinity  of  women  was  not  peculiar  to  the 
German  savages. 

Mrs.  Child  says  they  fought  that  way,  and  even 

strangled  themselves,  to  save their  virtue!  Mrs. 

Child  forgets  that  the  lowest  savages  do  the  very  same, 
not  through  love  of  virtue,  but  through  fear  of  savage 
cruelty.  Horror  of  captivity  is  greatest  among  sav- 
ages, because  merciless  brutality  is  their  system. 

Old  historians  generally  represent  the  European 
Scythians  as  red  Indian  savages  are  now  known  to  us. 
But  some,  of  a more  poetic  fancy,  described  them  as 
the  children  of  nature,  unsophisticated,  truthful,  tem- 
perate, and  chaste,  as  the  American  novelists  fanci- 
fully paint  the  red  men. 

Rollin  quotes  Justin’s  account  of  the  Scythians, 
their  perfect  ignorance  of  all  law,  arts,  and  sciences ; 
they  were  too  good  and  innocent,  he  says,  to  need 
these.  They  had  no  money,  because  they  did  not 
covet  such  things ; and  he  takes  occasion  to  reprove 
the  luxury  and  avarice  of  his  own  race.  Horace,  the 
poet,  also,  like  Tacitus,  expands  upon  the  happiness 
and  purity  of  savage  life.  Speaking  of  the  magnifi- 
cent Romans,  he  says,  “ A hundred  times  happier  are 
the  Scythians,  who  roam  about  in  their  itinerant 
houses.  * * * The  wives  do  not  pretend  to  dom- 

ineer over  their  husbands,  on  account  of  their  fortunes, 
(poor  Horace !)  nor  are  to  be  corrupted  by  the  insin- 
uating language  of  spruce  adulterers.” 

Clothed  in  the  skins  of  beasts,  and  covered  with 


92  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

rancid  lard  and  vermin,  the  savages  could  not  certainly 
be  called  spruce  adulterers.  Generally  half  starved, 
their  brutal  passions  were  kept  in  check ; but  that 
these  Germans  or  Gothic  Scythians  had  any  idea  of 
chastity  or  woman’s  honor,  is  disproved  by  a thousand 
witnesses  regarding  their  conduct  when  they  broke 
into  the  regions  of  civilization. 

Leaving  the  poets  and  Roman  satirists  aside,  the 
matter-of-fact  historians,  like  Herodotus  and  Strabo, 
tell  us  that  the  Scythians  were  a bloody,  savage,  and 
sensual  race,  thieves  by  profession,  and  ravishers  when 
they  had  the  chance. 

The  conflicting  evidence  regarding  the  Scythian 
manners  may  have  arisen  from  the  fact  that  some  of 
the  northern  Celts  were  called  Celto-Syths.  But  Am- 
mianus  Marcellinus,  the  latest  and  most  accurate  por- 
trayer, lived  among  the  brothers  of  the  Saxon.  He 
describes  them  as  a most  filthy  and  bloody  race.  His 
plain,  matter-of-fact  style  contrasts  with  the  poetic 
varnishing  of  the  politic  Tacitus. 

Sidonius,  in  writing  to  a friend,  sums  up  his  obser- 
vations on  the  Burgundians  thus : “ Blessed  are  your 
eyes  that  do  not  see  them,  blessed  are  your  ears  that 
do  not  hear  them,  blessed  is  your  nose  that  does  not 
smell  them.”  He  says  they  were  covered  with  rancid 
lard , and  his  description  reminds  one  of  the  disgust 
that  the  old  Welsh  bards  expressed  against  the  Saxons 
and  their  women. 

The  natural  affections  preserve  a kindly  relation  be- 
tween husband  and  wife  in  all  climes.  It  is  only  in 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  93 

the  extremely  Gothic  tribes  that  woman  is  daily  sub- 
jected to  blows,  and  kicks,  and  insults.  The  slave 
wife  of  the  Saxon,  or  of  the  red  Indian,  ordinarily 
passes  a tolerable  life,  because  she  is  unconscious  of 
her  degraded  position.  We  need  not,  therefore,  ask 
the  Gothic  wife,  is  she  content?  We  need  not  go 
with  Tacitus  to  inquire  into  the  purity  of  savage 
life,  and  contrast  it  with  the  corruption  of  civilized 
Rome. 

Woman  is  naturally  more  chaste  than  man  ; but  the 
barbarian  woman  is  chaste  because  she  dare  not  be 
otherwise.  The  savage  insists  on  fidelity  in  his 
spouse,  not  from  any  abstract  idea  of  purity,  but  sim- 
ply because  she  is  his  property.  He  is  jealous  just  as 
the  wild  bull  is  jealous  of  a rival.  He  may  cling  to 
his  wife,  and  she  to  him,  through  the  force  of  natural 
affection ; but  to  speak  of  chastity  as  a savage  virtue, 
founded  upon  an  idea  of  sanctity , is  absurd,  and  Taci- 
tus might  as  well  have  shamed  his  countrywomen  by 
quoting  the  conjugal  fidelity  of  the  bear  and  his  mate, 
as  the  Goth  and  his  wife.  If  these  Germans  on  the 
Rhine  entertained  any  idea  of  chastity  as  an  abstract 
virtue,  they  must  have  had  it  from  the  contiguous 
Celts  in  the  south.  It  is  certain  they  did  not  bring  it 
from  their  mother  country,  in  the  north  of  Europe,  or 
Asia.  The  Anglo-Saxon  hordes,  who  were  composed 
of  the  most  northerly  tribes  of  Goths,  had  no  idea  of 
marriage,  in  our  sense.  They  had  not  the  faintest 
idea  of  that  conjugal  bond  which  prevailed  among 
the  ancient  Celts.  It  is  enough  to  say  that  the  earliest 


94  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

Anglo-Saxon  laws  that  sprang  out  of  their  conversion 
to  Christianity  provided  against  wife-selling,  and  the 
customary  murder  of  infants  by  their  fathers. 

The  Saxons  could  not  have  had  any  idea  of  a 
holy  bond  of  matrimony,  when  they  would,  as  they 
ordinarily  did,  sell  their  wives.  (See  Lingarcl , Turner , 
and  other  English  historians.) 

Montesquieu  (Spirit  of  Laws)  shows  that  monog- 
amy among  the  Germans  (so  praised  by  Tacitus,  and 
the  modern  writers  who  glorify  the  Gothic  race  at  the 
expense  of  Christianity)  was  a necessity.  The  Goths 
were  nomadic,  their  country  was  poor,  and  they  could 
not  support  more  than  one  wife  each.  As  we  see 
among  the  Anglo-Saxon  Mormons,  their  descendants, 
the  rich  old  fellows  monopolized  the  young  women, 
some  of  the  poor  young  men  having  none. 

Gibbon  shows  that  Gothic  women  were  wretched 
slaves,  compelled  to  do  all  the  work,  and  that  the  Ger- 
mans had  several  wives,  when  they  could  afford  it. 

But  after  all,  these  Germans  of  Tacitus  were  Celto- 
Germans,  Celto- Scythians,  an  intermediate  race,  as 
they  are  still,  on  the  banks  of  the  Rhine,  barbarous  as 
compared  with  the  Gauls,  but  civilized  as  compared 
with  the  more  purely  Gothic  northern  outside  savages 
on  the  Baltic,  from  whom  the  Anglo-Saxons  are 
clearly  descended. 

Aristotle  says  that  the  Germans  used  to  take  their 
new-born  children,  and  dive  them  in  rivers,  to  try 
their  strength.  Claudian  writes,  Nascentes  explorat 
gurgite  Rhenus 7 but  he  does  not  believe  the  report  that 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  95 

this  cruel  custom  of  putting  new-born  babes  under 
water  was  to  discern  the  base-born  from  the  legiti- 
mate. 

At  all  events,  the  ceremony  was  a cruel  outrage 
upon  the  helpless  mother,  as  well  as  the  infant.  This 
was  analogous  to  the  Saxon  custom  of  exposing 
infants,  the  father  murdering  them  if  he  took  the 
notion,  which  he  often  did,  as  proved  by  the  laws 
enacted  to  suppress  the  institution.  John  Mitchel 
Kemble,  the  author  of  “ Saxons  in  England,”  says 
that  the  Catholic  church  passed  laws  which  punished 
infanticide  among  the  Saxons  with  years  of  sore  pen- 
ance. 

The  method  that  Englishmen  sometimes  take  to 
live  by  the  dishonor  of  their  wives  and  daughters,  is 
but  a civilized  and  more  disgusting  form  of  the  old 
Saxonism.  When  you  hear  that  Saxon  women  were 
slaves,  you  are  not  to  suppose  that  they  were  kept  in 
ease  and  luxury,  like  the  women  of  the  East.  No ; 
they  were  wrought  like  beasts  of  burden.  Gibbon 
shows  that  the  Goths  were  lazy  brutes,  who  could 
only  be  aroused  by  the  scent  of  blood,  or  hope  of  plun- 
der. Like  the  red  squaw  of  America,  the  red  or  flaxen- 
haired Saxon  woman  was  obliged  to  dig  the  soil,  when 
they  did  cultivate  any,  and  in  fact  u to  do  every  thing 
that  required  labor.” 

u Polygamy  existed  only  among  the  princes,  because 
they  alone  could  support  more  than  one  woman. 
Poverty,  solitude,  and  drudgery  may  have  saved  the 
women  among  them ; but  when  fathers  leave  the  off- 


96  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

spring  to  perish,  they  cannot  have  a strong  faith  in  the 
wife.”  ( Gibbon.) 

Although  Tacitus  wished  to  shame  the  bad  women 

o 

of  Rome  by  an  imaginary  picture  of  German  chastity, 
he  acknowledges  that  polygamy  was  common  amongst 
those  Germans  who  could  afford  it.  In  later  ages,  we 
know,  by  laws  of  the  church,  that  the  Germans  mar- 
ried their  full  cousins,  and  even  their  own  father’s 
widow.  ( Kemble.) 

St.  Augustine  wrote  to  the  Pope  concerning  the 
incestuous  and  brutish  habits  of  the  Saxons.  ( Bede , 
Lib.  i.  cap.  27.) 

The  learned  Balmez  very  ably  points  out  the  politi- 
cally social  object  that  Tacitus  had  in  satirizing  the 
corrupt  state  of  Rome  by  a comparison  with  the  bar- 
barians. We  can  easily  see  to  whom  Tacitus  alludes, 
when  he  makes  these  severe  remarks : “ Nemo  enim 
illic  vitia  ridet , nec  corrumpere  et  corrumpi  sceculum 
vocatur  ” “ There  vice  is  not  laughed  at,  and  corrup- 

tion is  not  called  the  fashion.” 

Caesar,  an  eye  witness,  relates  that  the  German 
king  Ariovistus  had  two  wives,  (De  Bello  Gallico,  i.  1 ;) 
and  this  was  not  a solitary  instance,  for  Tacitus  him- 
self tells  us  that  a few  of  them  had  several  wives  at 
once,  not  on  account  of  sensuality,  but  for  distinction ! 
“ Exceptis  admodum  paucis , qui  non  libidine , sed  ob  no - 
bilitatem,pluribus  nuptiis  ambiuntur.”  This  distinction, 
non  libidine , sed  ob  nobilitatem , is  amusing.  But  it  is 
clear  that  the  kings  and  nobles,  under  one  pretence  or 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  97 

another,  allowed  themselves  greater  liberty  than  the 
severe  historian  would  have  approved  of. 

Balmez  asks,  u Who  can  tell  what  was  the  state  of 
morality  among  those  (North  German)  forests  ? ” But 
we  can  tell  exactly  what  it  was,  by  a reference  to  the 
state  of  the  Anglo-Saxons,  according  to  their  own 
history,  in  England,  and  even  after  their  supposed 
conversion  to  Christianity.  Now,  we  must  infer  that 
the  Saxons  brought  their  pagan  bestiality  with  them 
into  Britain,  or  we  must  conclude  that  Christianity 
made  them  the  slaves  and  brutes  we  find  them — a 
conclusion  which  no  man  can  for  a moment  en- 
tertain. 

The  truth  is,  that  while  the  church  predominated  on 
the  continent,  and  kept  in  check  the  Gothic  instincts, 
the  Anglo-Saxons  were  never  thoroughly  Christianized. 
They  never  abolished  slavery  or  free-loveism  until 
forced  by  the  Norman-French  Catholics,  and  the  Irish 
refusal  to  buy  any  more  of  their  women.  ( Council  of 
Armagh , 1171.) 

It  is  astonishing  how  M.  Guizot,  and  the  Saxon, 
and  Protestant,  and  infidel  writers,  could  have  per- 
suaded themselves  and  the  public  that  liberty  and  wo- 
men’s rights  came  from  the  Gothic  savages,  and  not 
from  the  Celtic  Christians.  The  honor  paid  to  certain 
Indian  prophetesses  does  not  make  the  squaw  less  a 
slave ; the  honor  paid  to  certain  German  witches  did 
not  make  the  Saxon  women  less  miserable  helots  of 
cruel  masters.  In  pagan  times,  the  Anglo-Saxons 
worshipped  witches ; in  Puritan  times,  they  burned 

9 


98  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


them : but  all  the  time,  women  were  kicked,  whipped, 
and  sold.  Cromwell  and  his  Puritans  sold  cargoes  of 
women  into  New  England ; these  women  were  Eng- 
lish malignants  and  Scotch  prisoners,  but  the  great 
bulk  were  Irish.  With  these  facts  before  us,  are  we 
to  believe  that  woman  was  a free  and  honored  being 
in  the  Saxon  swamps  and  forests  of  the  north,  and 
that  she  was  never  degraded  until  her  husband  was 
converted  to  Christianity?  The  truth  is,  as  I will 
prove,  that  brutish  slavery  was  inherent  in  the  Saxon 
character. 

Montesquieu  says  that  poverty  was  the  cause  of 
monogamy  among  the  Germans ; yet  in  another  place 
he  inconsistently  indorses  the  opinion  of  Tacitus,  that 
the  polygamy  of  the  German  chiefs  was  only  “ a con- 
sequence of  dignity,  and  it  would  have  wounded 
them  in  a tender  point  to  have  deprived  them  of  such 
a prerogative.”  When  the  German  tribes  come  under 
actual  observation  in  the  south  of  Europe,  he  does  not 
find  them  at  all  virtuous  ; but  this,  he  says,  was  no 
doubt  owing  to  the  relaxation  of  the  fibres,  which,  in 
warm  countries,  “ produces  a great  evacuation  of  the 
liquids.” 

The  unintelligible  jargon  of  ancient  physiology 
about  humors  and  fibres,  and  the  “ laws  relative  to  the 
distempers  of  the  climate,”  he  brings  in  to  explain 
every  social  and  political  phenomenon.  His  intention 
is  correct,  but  he  gropes  in  the  dark  to  find  a physi- 
ological key  to  history.  His  acknowledgments  and 
explanations  of  the  gluttony  and  drunkenness  of  the 


99 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS. 

northerns  are  very  inconsistent  with  his  defence  of 
their  chastity. 

There  never  yet  was  a drunken  nation  or  society 
chaste.  It  is  a physiological  impossibility.  England, 
Scotland,  and  Sweden  are  examples. 


BEAUTIES  OF  THE  RHINE. 


<£  Beauty  draws  us  by  a single  hair.”  — •«  T.  Hood. 


100  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


CHAPTER  V. 

DOMESTIC  LIFE  OF  TIIE  ANCIENT  CELTS. 

The  law  of  primitive  Celtic  Europe  is  the  basis  of 
Roman  law  and  republicanism.  The  ancient  Cells 
were  almost  Christian  in  the  family  institution.  It 
existed  in  an  admirable  form  among  the  ancient  Egyp- 
tians, who  were,  according  to  recent  inquiries,  of  the 
Pelasgic,  that  is,  the  Celtic  race.  The  founders  of 
Rome  were  Celts,  chiefly  from  Cisalpine  Gaul  and 
Etruria.  The  Etruscans,  like  the  Egyptians,  Jews, 
and  Milesians,  had  but  one  wife,  though  they  pos- 
sessed also  handmaids.  The  Etruscan  marriage  was 
a sacred  bond,  indissoluble.  Some  of  the  old  forms 
and  customs  at  weddings  existed  in  Ireland  until 
lately.  For  instance,  the  tasting  of  salt  cake,  the  su- 
perstitions in  regard  to  fire  and  water,  and  the  ill  luck 
that  would  follow  if  the  bride  should  stumble  at  the 
threshold  of  her  new  home.  These,  and  other  such 
ideas  connected  with  fire  worship,  the  purity  of  salt, 
&e.,  are  still  existing  in  Ireland.  At  the  ancient 
Etruscan  marriage,  the  priest  offered  the  sacrifice  of  a 
lamb,  and,  with  prayers,  married  the  pair  in  the  pres- 
ence of  witnesses.  The  sacrifice  of  the  lamb,  and  the 
eating  of  blessed  cake,  may  have  been  a type  of  the 
Christian  faith. 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  101 

Beating  the  breast,  and  funeral  cries,  and  such  su- 
perstitions as  the  belief  in  an  evil  eye,  were  common 
to  the  Graeco-Egyptians,  Graeco-Milesians,  Italians,  and 
other  Celtic  nations. 

The  abduction  of  Helen  was  but  one  of  a series, 
which,  according  to  Herodotus,  was  the  beginning  of 
wars  between  Europe  and  Asia. 

The  Phoenician  traders  were  the  first  offenders,  when 
they  carried  off  lo  and  her  maidens,  who  came  down 
to  look  at  the  sailors  and  the  merchandise.  Abduc- 
tion was  considered  a manly  way  of  getting  a wife 
among  the  ancient  Celts.  The  Jews,  as  well  as  the 
Romans,  practised  it.  But  for  the  honor  of  the  race, 
it  must  be  said  that  the  ravishment  of  married  women 
was  considered  atrocious,  and  led  to  the  most  bloody 
wars. 

The  Milesian  youths  considered  it  a brave  feat  to 
abduct  an  heiress  ; but  the  honor  of  the  lady  was  in- 
variably respected,  and  the  ceremony  of  marriage  per- 
formed in  due  course. 

Buying  women  like  cattle,  in  the  Saxon  manner, 
was  never  practised  among  the  Celts.  The  bride- 
groom gave  presents,  but  the  bride,  on  the  other  hand, 
brought  her  dowry,  and  could  say  yes  or  no  to  the 
proposal. 

The  Roman  laws  in  regard  to  woman  are  justly 
admired  by  the  learned,  but  they  were  evidently  only 
the  continuation  or  revival  of  ancient  Celtic  law, 
which  existed  in  Gaul,  and  Britain,  and  Erin,  as  well 
as  in  Italy.  In  fact,  the  position  of  woman  was,  po*. 

9* 


102  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

litically,  higher  among  the  ancient  Celts  than  ever  it 
has  been  since.  She  could  be  a queen  and  ruler,  and 
commander  even  of  the  army  ; she  could  sit  as  a judge, 
and,  as  a priestess  and  prophetess,  preside  over  the 
mysteries  of  religion. 

The  Brehon  Laws  of  Ireland,  still  preserved  in  man- 
uscript, are  the  most  valuable  documents  in  existence, 
as  showing  the  condition  of  Celtic  Europe  before  the 
Gothic  destructions,  and  even  before  the  Greek  and 
Roman  civilizations.  My  friends  Dr.  O’Donovan  and 
Professor  Eugene  Curry,  are  now  engaged  in  trans- 
lating these  old  laws.  I am  indebted  to  them  for  in- 
formation regarding  the  primitive  institutions  of  Ire- 
land, and  consequently  of  ancient  Europe,  which  no 
mere  English  historian  possesses.  Saxon  arrogance 
will  be  silenced  when  these  Irish  scholars  unfold  the 
true  history  of  the  past,  and  show  the  Celtic  origin 
of  democratic  liberty,  with  elected  kings,  and  a true 
nobility  of  merit. 

At  present,  I have  only  to  speak  of  the  domestic 
life,  and  woman’s  rights. 

The  position  of  the  ancient  Irish  woman  was  equal 
to  that  of  the  Egyptian,  and  analogous  to  the  Israelite. 
But  the  Milesian  matron,  at  the  head  of  her  household, 
exercised  a far  higher  moral  control,  and  enjoyed  a 
greater  share  of  liberty  and  justice,  than  ever  the  Jew- 
ish woman  could  claim. 

Lingard,  in  speaking  of  the  government  of  Britons, 
says,  “ With  respect  to  the  succession,  there  are  in- 
stances where  the  father  had  portioned  his  dominions 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS. 


103 


among  his  children,  and  others  in  which  the  reigning 
prince  left  his  crown  to  his  widow,  who  both  exercised 
the  more  peaceful  duties  of  royalty,  but  also,  with 
arms  in  her  hands,  conducted  her  subjects  to  the  field 
^of  battle.”  ^ 

The  ruling  power  of  Boadicea  is  but  one  out  of 
many  such  cases  among  the  Celts,  related  by  Diodo- 
rus, Mela,  Tacitus,  and  others  referred  to  by  Lingard. 

The  learned  Banier  points  to  the  fact  that  the  Gauls 
made  a compact  with  Hannibal,  that  if  a Gaul  and  a 
Carthaginian  should  have  a dispute,  it  should  be  re- 
ferred to  the  tribunal  of  the  Gallic  women. 

Ireland  had  several  ancient  names,  from  the  illustri- 
ous queens  that  ruled  that  once  happy  country. 

The  law  of  monogamy  prevailed  in  Deland.  In 
certain  cases  among  the  chiefs,  concubinage  was  al- 
lowable. But  the  entire  household,  and  the  conduct 
of  the  husband  within  doors,  were  under  the  absolute 
control  of  the  mother.  The  husband  dared  not  raise 
children  by  a handmaid,  unless  the  wife  consented. 
The  Irish  chiefs  were  therefore  under  more  restraint 
than  the  Jewish  patriarchs.  In  fact,  the  Irish  wife 
stood  equal  with  her  husband,  in  every  respect.  Mar- 
riage was  an  equal  contract ; every  bride  brought  her 
dower  of  wealth  or  beauty,  and  was  not  considered 
dependent  upon  her  husband. 

Divorce  was  practicable,  evidently  too  much  so,  and 
woman  had  her  rights,  perhaps  more  than  enough. 

Beauty  was  a dower  prized  above  all  riches ; the 
handmaids  held  their  position  in  the  household  ac- 


104  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

cording  to  their  personal  charms,  the  least  beautilul 
being  obliged  to  grind  at  the  corn  mills,  and  do  the 
drudgery  of  cooking,  &c. 

Irish  women  were  not  secluded,  nor  subject  to  per- 
sonal restraint,  although  under  the  strict  mastery  of 
the  Druidic  moral  code. 

The  male  and  female  domestics  were  sometimes 
slaves,  but  only  in  a limited  degree  — such  as  pris- 
oners of  war,  and  debtors,  who  were  obliged,  in  de- 
fault of  payment,  to  work  for  the  creditor  until  they 
paid  the  last  farthing.  There  were  no  hereditary  slave 
serfs  nailed  to  the  soil,  and  chattels  of  their  masters, 
in  Ireland. 

Considering  that  the  ancient  Irish  were  pagans, 
their  Brehon  laws  show  them  to  have  been  a civilized 
people.  Even  in  their  superstitions,  we  see  an  amia- 
ble disposition.  Unlike  the  Christians,  they  had  no 
asylums  for  orphans,  but  they  practised  adoption  and 
fosterage  — generous  and  endearing  customs.  They 
had  a horror  of  bastardy,  and  would  not  adopt  an 
illegitimate  child.  Foundlings  were  put  in  a boat, 
and  sent  out  to  sea ; the  man  upon  whose  estate  it 
drifted  in  was  obliged  to  maintain  the  child.  There 
was  a cruelty  in  this,  seeing  that  the  poor  infant  might 
be  lost.  But  on  the  other  hand,  it  shows  that  legiti- 
macy was  a valued  jewel,  and  it  shows  that  even  the 
worst  of  the  Irish  pagan  women  abhorred  infanticide, 
but  chose  to  hide  their  shame  by  leaving  the  little  one 
at  least  a chance  for  its  life,  like  Moses  in  the  Nile. 

Marriage,  in  the  perfect  Christian  sense,  was  not 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  105 


understood  by  the  pagan  Celts  ; but  the  great  care 
that  every  Irishman  took  in  preserving  his  pedigree, 
proves  that  they  highly  estimated  legitimacy.  v 

Bede  relates  that  a band  of  Pictish  warriors  (per- 
haps from  the  Pictones  of  Aquitania,  in  Gaul  *)  went 
to  seek  a settlement  in  Ireland ; but  the  Irish  directed 
them  to  Caledonia,  where  they  might  conquer  the 
land.  It  appears  these  Piets  wTere  a friendly  tribe,  for 
the  Irish  gave  them  wives,  with  this  stipulation : that 
if  ever  there  should  be  a dispute  for  the  crown,  it 
should  be  given  to  the  man  who  claimed  royal  descent 
through  his  mother,  in  preference  to  one  who  could 
claim  descent  only  through  his  father ; thus  giving  the 
preference  to  the  female  line. 

The  venerable  Bede  would  not  have  related  this  in- 
cident if  it  were  not  known  that  the  Irish  held  woman 
in  the  highest  honor.  This  law  in  favor  of  females 
actually  prevailed  in  Scotland.  It  was  the  very  oppo- 
site of  the  Germanic  and  Saxon  system,  and  the 
Gothic  salic  law,  which  repudiated  woman’s  political 
existence,  and  denied  her  the  rights  of  person  and 
property. 

The  natural  position  of  woman  is  within  the  house- 
hold, and  her  duty  the  fostering  and  education  of  her 
children.  But  instances  of  female  influence,  and  even 
command,  are  as  frequent  among  the  ancient  Celts  as 
among  the  modem  nations ; as  in  the  case  of  Boa- 
dicea,  Erina,  &c. 

* Had  these  been  Scottish  Piets  it  is  not  probable  that  they  would 
be  directed  back  to  their  own  country. 


106  CONDITION  OP  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

It  is  an  undeniable  fact,  that  the  Saxons  and  North- 
men first  introduced  the  trade  of  buying  and  selling 
women  like  cattle  in  the  market. 

As  I have  already  remarked,  marriage  was  an  equal 
contract,  and  the  wife  brought  her  dower  to  match  the 
wealth  of  her  husband,  according  to  their  station.  To 
this  day,  it  is  a common  practice  in  Ireland  for  match- 
makers to  conduct  this  pecuniary  part  of  the  marriage 
contract.  But  the  custom  of  buying  wives  like  slaves 
never  existed  in  Ireland,  and  as  far  as  we  know,  this 
degrading  sale  of  women  never  prevailed  in  any  Celtic 
nation  of  Europe.  The  Saxons,  Danes,  and  other 
Goths  traded  in  women  and  children,  and  brought 
with  them  other  most  degrading  forms  of  slavery. 

We  may  set  it  down  as  a positive  certainty,  that 
the  ancient  Irish  were  not  prone  to  any  brutal,  incest- 
uous, or  bloody  usages,  or  human  sacrifices,  because 
the  old  laws,  poems,  and  traditions  make  no  mention 
of  them,  and  St.  Patrick  and  the  early  missionaries  do 
not  accuse  them  of  any  of  these  savage  and  bloody 
abominations,  which  we  shall  find  distinguished  the 
pagan  Saxons. 

What  is  true  of  the  ancient  Irish,  whose  valued 
records  escaped  the  destroying  hand  of  the  barbarous 
invaders,  must  be  more  or  less  true  of  the  ancient 
Britons. 

It  is  clearly  established  by  Dr.  Webster,  by  Sir  W. 
Betham,  by  the  philologists  and  antiquarians,  and  by 
the  learned  Abbe  Pezron,  that  the  ancient  Greeks  — 
the  Pelasgi  — were  pure  Celts)  and  we  know  from 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  107 


Grecian  history  and  legend,  that  the  women  in  the  okl 
heroic  ages  were  free,  noble,  divine.  J±  We  find  the 
wife  occupying  a station  of  great  dignity  and  influ- 
ence ; she  even  seems  to  live  less  secluded,  and  to 
enjoy  a wider  sphere  of  action  than  was  allotted  to 
her  in  historical  Greece.  A large  portion  of  the  ro- 

mantic  interest  which  Grecian  legend  inspires  is  de- 

— 

rived  from  the  women.  Penelope,  Andromache,  Helen, 
Clytemnestra,  Eriphyle,  Jocasta,  Hecuba,  &c.,  all 
stand  in  the  foreground  of  the  picture,  either  from 
their  virtues,  their  beauty,  their  crimes,  or  their  suffer- 
ings.” ( Grote’s  History  of  Greece .) 

If  the  pagan  Greeks  had  their  Venus  Popularis , or 
sensual  goddess,  we  must  not  forget  that  they  had 
their  Venus  Coelestis , or  chaste  goddess.  They  had 
also  their  noble  band  of  virgins,  priestesses  of  Ceres, 
whose  persons  were  held  sacred  and  inviolable.  In 
like  manner,  the  Egyptians  and  Romans  had  their 
vestal  virgins ; the  western  Celts  had  their  Druidical 
virgins ; the  Phoenicians  and  Carthaginians  wor- 
shipped the  Virgo  Coelestis , represented  by  the  moon, 
and  called  the  Queen  of  Heaven. 

The  ancient  Pelasgic  Celts  of  Greece  had  the  same 
high  idea  of  woman  that  prevailed  in  other  Celtic 
tribes.  “ The  poets’  delineations  of  Grecian  heroines 
in  the  legendary  ages  make  us  glow  with  the  assur- 
ance that  the  noble  spirit  of  humanity  has  not  only 
become  dominant,  but  will  continue  to  rule. 

“ The  earliest  traditions  of  the  Greeks  relate,  not  to 
wars  and  conquests,  but  to  the  settlements  of  their 
domestic  institutions  and  marital  relations.” 


108  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


Authentic  history  testifies  the  exalted  position  of 
the  ancient  Irish  Milesian  matron.  The  Milesians 
and  Greeks  had  a common  origin,  and  they  both  re- 
ceived their  civilization  from  Egypt,  or  Egypt  received 
her  enlightened  spirit  from  them.  It  is  therefore  a 
legitimate  inference,  that  the  ancient  Greek  mother 
and  daughter  held  as  noble  a position  as  the  Egyptian 
or  Milesian,  before  war  and  commerce  with  the  sen- 
sual East  and  barbarous  North  had  corrupted  Grecian 
manners. 

A learned  reviewer  in  the  u Westminster,”  October, 
1855,  says,  “ It  is  remarkable,  that  during  the  progress 
of  Greek  civilization,  the  women  of  Athens  did  not 
advance,  but  rather  retrograded.  The  same  fact  is  to 
be  observed  in  Italy,  which  gave  rise  to  the  angry  com- 
ments of  Tacitus,  who  contrasted  the  Roman  ladies 
with  the  barbarous  but  virtuous  women  of  the  Rhine.” 
We  remark  the  same  degeneracy  in  Ireland  and  Brit- 
ain after  the  Saxon  invasion.  No  doubt  a false  civ- 
ilization corrupted  Celtic  nations,  and  degraded  the 
Celtic  woman.  But  I maintain  that  in  no  Celtic  na- 
tion did  corruption  and  slavery  of  woman  extend, 
until  it  was  brought  in  contact  with  northern  or  east- 
ern Gothism.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  a truth,  that 
the  Greeks,  the  Romans,  and  other  nations  of  Celts 
elevated  the  condition  of  woman  in  all  their  early  con- 
quests over  barbarians. 

That  in  the  pure  Celtic  age  of  heroic  Greece,  wo- 
man was  virtually  and  actually  free  as  her  Milesian 
sister  was  in  ancient  Ireland,  we  learn  from  the  Gre- 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  109 

cian  laws.  The  idea  of  chastity  also  existed;  thus 
“ it  was  considered  scandalous  for  a wife  to  leave  her 
husband,  but  if  he  brought  an  hetcera  into  the  house, 
he  thereby  gave  her  a legal  ground  for  separation,” 
&c.  (See  subsequent  description  of  hetcercB.)  Now, 
although  the  Greek  husband,  like  some  husbands  every 
where,  may  have  unjustly  coerced  his  wife,  these  laws 
prove  that  s^e  was  no  slave,  and  that  she  had  rights. 
The  Greek  slave  wife  was  unknown  until  the  red- 
haired,  green-eyed  monster,  the  Turk  — the  ethnologic 
brother  of  the  Ogre  and  the  Saxon  — gained  power  on 
classic  soil. 

The  legends  regarding  the  Amazons  prove,  whether 
true  or  false,  that  woman’s  power  and  influence  was 
a recognized  public  fact. 

Juno,  Minerva,  Diana,  and  Isis  of  the  Egyptians, 

•~tt  t-  8 *******  **’"“"'*' “ 

attest  the  popular  estimation  in  woman’s  divinity  and 
equality,  even  in  heaven. 

Shakspeare  borrowed  his  heroines,  not  from  English 
but  from  Celtic  sources ; but  the  poets  of  Greece 
and  Italy  find  their  feminine  ideals  at  home.  Sappho, 
Aspasia,  Corinna,  Virginia,  &c.,  not  to  forget  the 
Sibyl  of  Cumae,  and  the  Pythia,  or  virgin,  to  be  seen 
like  a familiar  angel  at  all  the  temples. 

Woman  was  considered  too  sacred  for  the  stage. 
Female  characters  were  assumed  by  young  men. 

Widows  were  venerated  in  their  widowhood,  but 
despised  if  they  married  again. 

Extraordinary  veneration  was  shown  to  the  vestal 
virgins.  Lictors  cleared  the  way  for  them;  and  if  a 

10 


110  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

condemned  criminal,  on  his  way  to  execution,  was 
fortunate  enough  to  meet  one  of  them,  he  was  imme- 
diately freed. 

Virginity  was  considered  absolutely  necessary,  in 
order  to  acquire  the  gift  of  prophecy.  The  person  of 
the  Pythia,  or  prophetess,  was  held  sacred. 

In  primitive  generations  women  in  Greece  were 
faithful  and  the  men  were  modest ; therefore  the  wo- 
men  were  not  confined,  and  they  appeared  even  with 
scanty  raiment  in  public.  Cynisca,  a virgin  of  Sparta, 
won  the  prize  in  the  chariot  race  of  the  Olympic 
games.  As  society  grew  older,  modesty  draped  from 
head  to  foot  took  the  place  of  nude  simplicity. 

It  is  recorded  that  the  Milesian  Greek  women  were 
at  one  time  affected  with  a mania  for  committing  sui- 
cide. Many  measures  were  tried  to  check  the  calam- 
ity without  effect,  until  it  was  enacted  that  the  bodies 
of  suicides  should  be  exposed  to  public  view.  The 
mere  threat  had  the  desired  effect ; it  immediately  and 
completely  frightened  them  into  their  senses,  and  there 
were  no  more  cases  of  self-destruction. 

Monogamy  was  the  general  rule  among  the  Greeks 
and  other  Celtic  nations.  It  is  true  that  Greece  more 
than  Italy,  or  any  other  Celtic  country,  was  contami- 
nated by  the  example  of  the  Eastern  woman  slave  sys- 
tem ; but  there  is  no  evidence  to  show  that  the  Greeks 
ever  treated  their  women  with  Gothic  cruelty  and 
degradation.  Egypt  civilized  Greece.  Had  the 
slavery  of  woman  been  a radical  vice  in  the  Greek 
nature,  as  it  was  in  the  Eastern  and  Gothic,  Egyptian 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  Ill 


influence  might  have  modified,  but  could  not  efface, 
the  evil. 

Christianity  labored  for  many  centuries  to  free  the 
Anglo-Saxon  wife  from  her  brutal  husband’s  depotism  ; 
but  the  vice  is  still  radical.  We  may  venture  to  say 
that  if  the  ancient  Greek  had  been  naturally  cold 
hearted  and  tyrannical  towards  his  sister,  wife,  or 
daughter,  no  Egyptian  balm  could  have  cured  the 
moral  ulcer. 

Monogamy  was  legally  established,  but  soon  the 
commercial  intercourse  of  the  Milesians  and  other 
Greek  colonists  with  the  Gothic  nations  north  of  the 
Black  Sea,  and  with  the  voluptuous  kingdoms  of  the 
East,  corrupted  Grecian  manners.  In  some  places  the 
Greeks  endeavored  to  save  their  people  by  appointing 
officers  to  deal  with  the  barbarians  at  a distance  from 
the  cities. 

I repeat  that  the  women  of  the  Mediterranean  were 
the  most  free,  and  their  children  the  most  beloved 
and  cherished  of  any  nation  in  the  world.  The  ex- 
ceptions to  this  rule  are  to  be  found  among  tribes  who 
were  either  mixed  with  Tartar  blood,  or  who  resem- 
bled the  Goths  in  their  material  and  carnivorous  pro- 
pensities. In  these  respects  the  barbarous  Spartans 
were  among  the  Greeks  what  the  Saxons  are  among 
the  Britons.  The  Spartans  were  more  uniformly 
light  haired  and  fleshy,  a connecting  link,  like  the  Cal- 
edonians, between  the  true  Celt  and  the  true  Goth. 
The  Spartans,  like  the  Anglo-Saxons,  used  to  expose 
and  try  the  strength  of  their  infants.  The  Spartan 


112  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

mother,  in  showing  want  of  feeling  at  the  death  of  her 
sons,  exhibited  her  Gothic  character.  There  are  many 
words  in  the  Greek  like  the  German.  If  there  was 
Gothic  blood  in  Greece,  we  may  look  for  it  among 
the  Spartans,  who  were,  however,  far  superior  in  gen- 
erosity and  humanity  to  the  Goths,  but  far  inferior 
to  the  gentle  Athenians,  these  heroes  of  Marathon  — 
these  Celtic  children  of  the  Pelasgi. 

The  Greek  girl  held  a lower  position  than  her  sister 
in  Egypt,  Italy,  and  the  Celtic  west. 

Greek  women  “ were  always  in  a state  of  tutelage, 
perpetually  in  the  power  and  subject  to  the  directions 
of  their  fathers,  husbands,  or  other  legally  appointed 
guardians.’’  The  Athenian  women  were  more  or  less 
confined.  But  they  were  virtuous  ; the  Spartan  moth- 
ers were  personally  free,  and  joined  in  public  gymnas- 
tics ; but  they  were  licentious ; the  marriage  of  girls 
was  controlled  by  fathers  and  guardians.  Public  in- 
tercourse and  u passional  attractions ,”  even  among  the 
married,  were  lawful  in  Sparta,  but  not  in  the  other 
states.  The  Spartans  were  more  like  Goths  in  their 
propensities,  and  even  in  their  physique.  Among  the 
purer  Celts  of  Athens,  adultery  wras  punished  by  in- 
famy and  excommunication  from  society  and  from  the 
temples.  Greek  women  could  obtain  a divorce  on 
just  grounds,  and  claim  their  dowry  and  a support. 
In  this  and  other  respects  we  see  the  remnant  of  the 
noble  old  Brehon  laws  of  Celtic  Europe.  But  there 
woman’s  rights  had  already  become  only  a theory, 
seldom  in  practice.  Virtue  decayed  before  Greece 
began  to  decline. 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  113 

Domestic  life  in  Druidic  Erin  was  much  the  same 
as  in  Greece.  But  in  as  far  as  the  ancient  paganism 
of  Ireland  was  more  pure  and  exalted,  being  farther 
removed  from  Eastern  and  Gothic  contamination,  so 
their  manners  were  more  primitive  and  innocent. 

The  following  description  of  domestic  life  in  Greece 
(Chambers’  Tracts)  will  apply  to  Celtica  generally  : — 

“ The  only  literary  education  of  Greek  women  was 
what  they  got  at  home.  They  were  expected  to  de- 
vote themselves  chiefly  to  the  domestic  arrangements 
and  household  industry,  or  the  operations  of  spinning 
and  weaving.  They  had  their  own  apartments,  and 
were  rareJy  allowed  to  leave  the  house  ; their  chief 
public  appearances  were  at  festivals.  After  marriage 
they  were  more  at  liberty  in  this  respect ; attended 
by  a female  slave,  they  might  go  a shopping  or  pay 
visits.  Of  course  the  wives  of  the  poorer  citizens 
could  not  be  kept  under  such  restraint;  but  even  they 
do  not  appear  to  have  gone  to  market  so  frequently  as 
their  husbands. 

“ Marriage  was  considered  as  a duty  to  the  gods,  in 
order  to  provide  for  the  continuance  of  their  worship. 
The  procreation  of  children  was  also  a duty  to  the 
state.  Moreover,  the  attentions  paid  to  the  tombs  of 
deceased  ancestors  would  be  suspended  if  a family 
were  to  become  extinct ; and  this  interruption  in  the 
worship  of  either  gods  or  ancestors  was  considered  a 
very  great  calamity.  Marriages  were,  for  the  most 
part,  urged  by  these  religious  motives,  in  combination 
with  the  maintenance  of  a household.  Love  matches 

10* 


114  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

were  the  exception.  It  was  not  unusual  for  a father 
to  choose  a wife  for  his  son.  In  general,  more  regard 
was  paid  to  the  connections  and  dowry  of  the  bride 
than  to  her  personal  charms  or  accomplishments; 
these  there  was  little  opportunity  for  becoming  ac- 
quainted with.  Equality  of  rank  and  fortune  was  to 
some  extent  insisted  on.  Near  relationship  was  no 
bar,  excepting,  of  course,  members  of  the  same  family, 
who  were  prohibited  by  public  opinion  from  matrimo- 
nial alliance.  It  was  generally  arranged  that  the 
• bride  should  be  considerably  the  younger  of  the  two. 
The  giving  of  dowries  was  universal,  and  was  one  of 
the  burdens  entailed  on  the  father  of  a family  of 
daughters,  so  much  so  as  to  constitute  a motive  for 
refusing  to  bring  up  female  children.  A marriage  was 
solemnized  by  various  ceremonies.  Some  time  before 
the  wedding,  an  offering  was  made  to  the  tutelary 
gods  of  marriage.  On  the  wedding  day,  the  bride 
and  bridegroom  washed  with  water  brought  from  a 
particular  well.  The  marriage  procession  from  the 
house  of  the  bride  to  her  future  abode  took  place 
towards  evening,  and  besides  the  bride  and  bride- 
groom, consisted  of  a numerous  train,  both  men  and 
women,  dressed  for  the  occasion,  and  preceded  by 
torch-bearers;  the  procession  was  accompanied  with 
music.  The  wedding  feast  took  place  at  the  house  of 
the  bridegroom  or  of  his  parents  ; and  as  an  exception 
to  the  rule  of  dinner  parties,  the  women  were  present, 
but  at  a table  apart.  Bridal  cakes  were  distributed  as 
an  essential  part  of  the  ceremony.  The  bride  was  led 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  115 

off  veiled  to  the  nuptial  chamber,  and  an  epithalami- 
um  was  sung  before  the  door  by  a chorus  of  girls. 

“ Household  management,  and  the  bringing  up  of 
the  children,  became  thenceforth  the  woman’s  occupa- 
tion. She  shared  the  company  of  her  husband,  but 
was  not  allowed  to  be  present  at  his  convivial  parties, 
nor  to  receive  strangers  in  his  absence.  She  had  the 
management  of  the  servants,  who  were  slaves,  and 
on  her  devolved  the  care  of  the  sick,  whether  of  the 
family  or  the  domestics. 

“ Gallantry  to  women  in  the  modern  sense  was  un- 
known ; but  in  their  presence  men  would,  it  is  said, 
maintain  a certain  stately  dignity,  to  keep  up  the 
respect  they  considered  due  to  themselves.  But  there 
were  abundant  instances  of  the  utmost  familiarity  be- 
tween married  couples,  as  might  be  expected,  and  not 
a few  cases  of  the  reversed  relation  denominated  pet- 
ticoat government.” 

“ The  Greek  hetserae,  or  female  companions,  were 
women  who  had  broken  loose  from  domestic  restraint, 
and  lived  apart  in  free  intercourse  with  the  other  sex, 
and  were  of  all  degrees  of  talent,  character,  and  re- 
spectability. Some  of  them  acquired  so  extensive  a 
celebrity  in  their  own  time,  that  their  names  have  de- 
scended with  renown  to  posterity.  They  often  pos- 
sessed the  highest  charms  of  intellectual  accomplish- 
ment, as  well  as  beauty  and  personal  fascination. 

“ These  hetaerae  generally  lived  in  houses  of  their 
own.  It  was  a peculiarity  of  the  Greek  mind  to  carry 
pleasures  and  enjoyments  to  a very  great  length  with- 


116  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


out  allowing  them  to  relax  and  destroy  the  whole  tone 
of  the  character ; hence  we  must  not  attribute  to 
these  females  or  their  lovers  the  same  characteristics 
as  would  attach  to  similar  characters  in  our  own  coun- 
try. The  Athenian  youth  spent  much  of  their  time 
and  fortune  in  such  company.  There  were  besides 
hetaerae  — an  extensive  class  of  prostitutes,  who  were 
slaves  procured  for  that  purpose,  and  kept  in  numbers 
at  particular  houses.  Corinth  was  the  most  noted 
town  in  Greece  for  this  species  of  voluptuousness.” 

The  history  of  the  slave  among  Saxon  Christians  is 
a tale  of  atrocity  when  compared  with  the  same 
among  pagan  Celts.  The  Athenians  treated  their  so- 
called  slaves  with  the  tenderest  humanity.  Serfs  were 
held  inferior  only  because  God  made  them  so.  (See 
the  elaborate  evidence  on  this  subject  given  by  Rollin.) 
Abolitionism  was  far  more  disinterested  in  those  an- 
cient days,  if  we  are  to  judge  by  the  numbers  of 
freedmen. 

♦ 

The  temples  were  inviolable  asylums  for  slaves, 
who  fled  from  the  cruelty  of  masters.  It  was  unlaw- 
ful for  a master  to  insult  a female  slave  in  Athens. 

Women  had  their  political  rights,  and  could  vote, 
officiate  in  the  temples,  and  sit  as  prophetesses,  queens, 
and  judges.  This  was  the  liberal  theory,  though, 
practically,  the  stronger  genius  of  man  ruled  society. 
By  the  contention  of  Agamemnon  and  his  wife  about 
their  daughter’s  marriage,  we  learn  that  in  theory,  and 
often  in  practice,  the  mother  was  absolute  mistress 
of  the  household,  as'was  the  case  in  ancient  Ireland. 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  117 


The  exceptional  cases  of  cruelty  or  lewdness  in  an- 
cient times  prove  the  rule  of  general  virtue ; and  the 
laws  of  Lycurgus,  Solon,  and  others,  in  later  eras, 
prove  the  existence  of  a public  opinion  that  was  not 
yet  quite  enslaved  to  vice. 

Hecuba,  chained  at  the  gate  of  the  long-exasperated 
Agamemnon,  calls  loudly  for  public  pity  and  sympa- 
thy, while  Alexander  and  Cyrus  were  deified  for  their 
gallantry  and  magnanimous  chastity,  under  tempta- 
tions greater  than  Joseph’s. 

The  custom  of  going  half  naked,  and  of  erecting 
nude  statues,  was  not  the  cause  of  depravity,  nor 
the  result  of  a depraved  appetite.  On  the  contrary, 
the  close  covering  of  the  person  became  imperative 
only  when  corruption  ate  its  way  into  society.  The 
fine  of  a thousand  drachms  of  gold  for  appearing 
naked  proved  that  there  were  still  virtuous  people  in 
plenty  to  be  scandalized.  The  humble,  good,  and 
modest  wife  of  Phocian  was  venerated  in  the  midst 
of  licentiousness  and  extravagance,  and  applauded 
when  her  name  happened  to  be  mentioned  in  the  the- 
atre. What  more  have  we  in  society  now? 


118  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


CHAPTER  VI. 

ROMAN  VIRTUE. 

The  laws  of  nations  are  the  most  positive  land- 
marks and  most  truthful  guides  to  the  history  of  the 
peoples. 

The  Celtic  nations  had  retained  many  fragments 
of  divine  truth,  sufficient  to  preserve  the  social  fabric ; 
but  when  Greece  became  corrupt,  and  Rome  began  to 
fall,  the  pagan  philosophers  in  vain  tried  their  for- 
mulae and  their  systems. 

Their  speculations  were  beautiful  in  theory,  but  they 
would  not  work.  In  utter  bewilderment,  the  great 
men,  like  Plato  and  Aristotle,  recommended  infanticide 
as  a remedy  for  over-population.  But  it  does  not  ap- 
pear that  this  practice  was  actually  instituted,  and  the 
recommendation  only  proves  that,  bad  as  these  Greeks 
were,  they  had  never  sunk  to  Gothic  depths  of  bru- 
tality. Now,  on  the  contrary,  we  find  among  Chris- 
tian Saxons,  first  and  last,  laws  to  prevent  infanticide, 
child-selling,  wife-murder,  &c.,  &c.  In  the  one  case, 
pagan  Celts  are  recommended,' in  their  distress,  to  kill 
their  offspring;  in  the  other  case,  Saxon  Christians 
must  be  threatened  with  civil  punishment  and  eternal 
condemnation,  to  prevent  their  killing  or  selling  their 
children,  — these  crimes  being  committed  in  times  of 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  119 

prosperity.  The  proof  of  this  we  shall  find  when  I 
come  to  quote  the  old  laws,  suppressing  these  inhu- 
man institutions  of  the  Saxons. 

There  is  this  mighty  difference  between  the  Greek 
and  the  Gothic  infanticide  — that  whereas  the  practice 
originated  among  the  Greeks  in  the  wise  heads  of 
heartless  old  legislators,  and  whereas  it  was  necessary 
to  drag  “the  condemned  and  worthless  abortions” 
from  the  arms  of  their  mothers,  and  whereas  the  abor- 
tions, diseased  and  crippled  as  aforesaid,  were  tried, 
condemned,  and  executed  according  to  law,  by  these 
old  men,  therefore  Greek  mothers  are  not  to  blame  as 
the  originators  of  this  murder  by  law. 

But  the  Spartans  were  to  blame  for  so  long  submit- 
ting to  this  new  tyranny.  In  extenuation  it  may  in- 
deed be  said,  that  these  warlike  men  considered  that 


THE  HAND  OF  AN  ENGLISH  MOTHER. 


120  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


deformed,  idiotic  abortions  had  slavish  souls,  accursed 
of  the  gods,  as  unfit  for  the  council  as  for  the  battle. 

But  on  the  other  hand,  Gothic  infanticide  arose  from 
an  instinct  of  destruction  in  the  hearts  of  the  parents 
individually,  and  the  children,  whether  healthy  or 
weak,  whether  in  paganism  or  in  Christianity,  were 
invariably  slaughtered  by  the  hands  that  should  be  the 
last  to  hurt  them,  the  first  to  defend  them.  Private 
convenience,  not  public  good,  was  the  motive  of 
Gothic  murders. 

Caesar  was  not  very  exact  or  nice  in  his  account  of 
the  British  race,  that  drove  him  and  his  vast  army  into 
the  sea.  He  says  that  the  Britons  had  wives  in  com- 
mon, brothers  with  brothers,  and  fathers  with  sons,  and 
that  the  children  were  given  to  him  who  had  first  taken 
the  woman.  Caesar’s  word  may  appear  sufficient  evi- 
dence, but  it  is  obvious  that  he  was  under  a misappre- 
hension of  British  customs.  Anciently,  it  was  con- 
sidered a dreadful  misfortune  to  die  without  issue.  In 
such  case,  the  Jews,  and  I believe  the  Phoenicians, 
gave  the  widow  to  her  deceased  husband’s  brother,  in 
order  that  he  might  raise  up  children  for  his  brother. 
The  same  custom  may  have  prevailed  in  South  Brit- 
ain, and  therefore  Caesar  was  right  in  saying  that  the 
children  belonged  to  the  brother  who  first  espoused  the 
bride. 

From  this  remark  of  Caesar,  the  learned  Balmez  has 
rather  loosely  assumed  that  the  institution  of  the  fam- 
ily, and  the  virtue  of  chastity,  were  unknown  to  the 
Britons.  Such  an  assumption  is  very  unwarranted. 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  121 

Caesar  himself  describes  the  preeminent  virtue  and 
chastity  of  the  British  Druidism.  Druidesses  were  of 
three  orders ; first,  those  who  lived  secluded  in  celibacy ; 
second,  those  who  were  married,  but  only  saw  their 
husbands  once  a year ; third,  thqse  who  attended  to 
the  care  of  families  and  household  duties.  ( Banier .) 

Will  any  one  presume  to  say  that  these  Druids  of 
Britain,  who  are  allowed  to  have  had  extraordinary 
power  over  princes  and  people,  would  have  tolerated 
the  state  of  society  which  authors  deduce  from  some 
loose  remark  of  Caesar  ? 

Among  the  Jews,  as  well  as  among  other  nations 
of  antiquity,  the  marriage  of  relatives  was  occasion- 
ally permitted  on  political  grounds.  Montesquieu 
says  that  u the  law  which  prohibited  people  from  hav- 
ing two  inheritances  was  extremely  well  adapted  for  a 
democracy.  It  derived  its  origin  from  the  equal  dis- 
tribution of  lands  and  portions  made  to  each  citizen. 
The  law  would  not  permit  a single  man  to  possess 
more  than  a single  portion. 

a From  the  same  source  arose  those  laws  by  which 
the  next  relation  was  ordered  to  marry  the  heiress. 
This  law  was  given  to  the  Jews  after  the  like  distribu- 
tion. Plato,  who  grounds  his  laws  on  this  division, 
made  the  same  regulation,  which  had  been  received  as 
a law  by  the  Athenians. 

“ At  Athens  there  was  a law  whose  spirit,  in  my 
opinion,  has  not  been  hitherto  rightly  understood.  It 
was  lawful  to  marry  a sister  only  by  the  father’s  side, 
but  it  was  not  permitted  to  espouse  a sister  by  the 

11 


122  CONDITION  OP  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

same  venter.  This  custom  was  originally  owing  to 
republics,  whose  spirit  would  not  permit  that  two  por- 
tions of  land,  and  consequently  two  inheritances, 
should  devolve  on  the  same  person.  A man  who  mar- 
ried his  sister  only  by  the  father’s  side,  could  inherit 
but  one  estate,  namely,  that  of  his  father;  but  by  es- 
pousing his  sister  by  the  same  venter,  it  might  happen 
that  this  sister’s  father,  having  no  male  issue,  might 
leave  her  his  estate,  and  consequently  the  brother  who 
married  her  might  be  possessed  of  two. 

“ The  Romans  had  no  particular  magistrates,  like  the 
Greeks,  to  inspect  the  conduct  of  women.  The  cen- 
sors had  not  an  eye  over  them  but  as  over  the  rest  of 
the  republic.  The  institution  of  the  domestic  tribu- 
nal supplied  the  magistracy  established  among  the 
Greeks. 

“ The  husband  summoned  the  wife’s  relations,  and 
tried  her  in  their  presence.  This  tribunal  preserved 
the  manners  of  the  republic  ; and  at  the  same  time, 
those  very  manners  maintained  this  tribunal,  for  it  de- 
cided not  only  in  respect  to  the  violation  of  manners, 
but  likewise  put  an  end  to  public  accusations. 

“ The  domestic  tribunal  inspected  the  general  conduct 
of  women ; but  there  was  one  crime  which,  beside  the 
animadversion  of  this  tribunal,  was  likewise  subject  to 
a public  accusation.  This  was  adultery ; whether  that 
in  a republic  so  great  a depravation  of  manners  inter- 
ested the  government,  or  whether  the  wife’s  immorality 
might  render  the  husband’s  suspected,  or  whether,  in 
fine,  they  were  afraid  lest  even  honest  people  might 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  123 

choose  that  this  crime  should  rather  be  concealed  than 
punished. 

“ Romulus  permitted  a husband  to  repudiate  his 
wife,  if  she  had  committed  adultery,  prepared  poison, 
or  procured  false  keys.  He  did  not  grant  to  women 
the  right  of  repudiating  their  husbands.  Plutarch  calls 
this  a law  extremely  severe. 

“ As  the  Athenian  law  gave  the  power  of  repudia- 
tion to  the  wife  as  well  as  to  the  husband,  and  as  this 
right  was  obtained  by  the  women  amongst  the  primi- 
tive Romans,  notwithstanding  the  law  of  Romulus, 
it  is  evident  that  this  institution  was  one  of  those 
which  the  deputies  of  Rome  brought  from  Athens, 
and  which  were  inserted  into  the  laws  of  the  twelve 
tables.” 

Mark ! that  the  Athenians  gave  equal  rights  to  wo- 
man, and  that  the  Roman  practice  was  similar,  despite 
the  law . Crimes  existed  in  Rome,  mentioned  by 
Tacitus,  Juvenal,  &c.,  which  St.  Paul  says  are  not  so 
much  as  to  be  named  among  Christians. 

This  awful  corruption,  we  must  still  bear  in  mind, 
was  subsequent  to  the  arrival  of  the  German  mercena- 
ries, and  other  savage  troops  in  Rome. 

Montesquieu  says,  “ At  Rome  the  husband  was  per- 
mitted to  lend  his  wife  to  another.  Plutarch  tells  us 
this  in  express  terms.  We  know  that  Cato  lent  his 
wife  to  Hortensius,  and  Cato  was  not  a man  to  violate 
the  laws  of  his  country. 

“ On  the  other  hand,  a husband  who  suffered  his  wife 
to  be  debauched,  who  did  not  bring  her  to  justice,  or 


124  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


who  took  her  again  after  her  condemnation,  was  pun- 
ished. These  laws  seem  to  contradict  each  other,  and 
yet  are  not  contradictory.  The  law  which  permitted 
a Roman  to  lend  his  wife  was  visibly  a Lacedccmonian 
institution , established  with  a view  of  giving  the  re- 
public children  of  a good  species,  if  I may  be  allowed 
the  term  ; the  other  had  in  view  the  preservation  of 
morals.  The  first  was  a law  of  politics,  the  second  a 
civil  law. 

“ Coriolanus,  setting  out  on  his  exile,  advised  his  wife 
to  marry  a man  more  happy  than  himself.  We  have 
just  been  seeing  that  the  law  of  the  twelve  tables,  and 
the  manners  of  the  Romans,  greatly  extended  the  law 
of  Romulus.” 

Such  facts  as  these  prove  clearly  that,  even  before 
the  German  contamination,  the  natural  virtue  of  the 
pagan  Celts  was  regulated  by  no  transcendent  fixed 
principle , such  as  Christianity  afforded.  Yet  the  gen- 
eral practice  of  the  pagan  Romans,  who  were  nat- 
urally good,  was  better  than  the  general  practice  of 
the  Christian  Saxons,  who  are  naturally  bad. 

In  the  first  rude,  warlike  age  of  ancient  Rome,  when 
the  young  giant  had  to  fight  his  way,  the  god  of  might 
was  the  chief  god,  and  the  military  idea  of  implicit 
obedience  kept  the  wife  in  a state  of  childhood,  and 
the  children  owed  submission  to  the  will  of  the  father’s 
power.  Marriage  was  an  important  legal  ceremony ; 
fidelity  in  the  wife,  and  affectionate,  but  unyielding 
parental  authority,  were  among  the  brightest  traits  in 
• the  old  Roman  character.  The  father  of  the  familv  — 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  125 

pater-familias  — was  the  patriarch,  the  absolute  ruler  of 
his  own  household,  and  over  his  daughters  until  they 
got  married,  when  they  passed  under  the  protection 
and  authority  of  their  husbands.  The  daughter  did 
not  require  the  consent  of  her  parents  to  her  marriage, 
but  the  son  did,  because  his  children  might  come  as 
heirs  of  the  property.  The  son  remained  obedient  to 
his  father  in  domestic  affairs  as  long  as  the  latter  lived  ; 
but  as  a citizen  in  office,  the  son  might  command  or 
punish  his  own  father.  At  the  death  of  the  father,  the 
son  became  his  6wn  master,  but  the  daughter  still  re- 
mained as  a child  under  her  brother  ; if  married,  under 
her  husband. 

The  reviewer  in  the  Westminster,  evidently  a 
learned  lawyer,  sums  up  his  outline  of  ancient  laws,  in 
regard  to  woman,  thus  : — 

“ What  a wonderful  contrast  to  the  stolid,  immova- 
ble Orientals  [and  he  should  add,  the  Goths]  is  pre- 
sented in  all  ways  by  the  Romans,  and  especially  in 
the  rapidity  of  their  social  developments!  Though, 
from  the  first,  they  neither  immured  their  women,  nor 
allowed  of  a plurality  of  wives,  they  held  them  in  the 
most  complete  and  systematized  subjection  ; and  yet, 
in  the  course  of  their  national  career,  which,  compared 
with  that  of  the  Chinese  or  Hindoos,  was  extremely 
short,  the  rights  of  woman,  in  nearly  all  respects,  were 
gradually  recognized,  and  at  length  firmly  established 
on  a legal  basis.  Slowly,  but  surely,  she  was  trans- 
formed from  the  condition  of  slavery  into  that  of  free- 
dom ; she  became  independent  of  guardianship ; as  a 

11* 


126  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

woman,  she  could  repudiate  the  unjust  obligation  of 
infant  betrothal;  she  could  save  herself  from  falling 
into  the  legal  power  of  her  husband  ; she  could  con- 
tract marriage  with  him  as  with  an  equal,  retaining 
for  herself  during  the  union  equal  freedom  ; and  finally, 
the  law  of  divorce  — equitable  for  the  first  time  in  the 
history  of  civilization  — gave  to  her,  as  well  as  to  him, 
the  best  security  possible  against  unfaithfulness  or  bad 
treatment,  seeing  that  if  he  persisted  in  reprehensible 
conduct,  she  could  not  only  leave  him,  but  claim  resti- 
tution of  such  of  her  property  as,  through  marriage, 
he  had  been  permitted  to  use.  We  may  hereafter 
characterize  the  Roman  laws  relating  to  the  inherit- 
ance and  tenure  of  property  so  far  as  they  affect 
woman ; whoever  is  acquainted  with  them,  as  well  as 
with  those  affecting  her  person,  as  above  described, 
cannot  fail  to  be  impressed  with  the  profound  wisdom 
and  justice  they  display.  How  vastly  superior  they 
are  to  those  of  England,  no  philosophical  mind  can 
deny.  Indeed,  we  may  safely  affirm,  that  neither  be- 
fore nor  since  these  laws  were  in  force  have  men  ever 
been  animated,  when  legislating  for  woman,  by  so 
noble  a spirit  of  rectitude  and  enlarged  common  sense, 
as  was  that  which  finally  obtained  supremacy  in  the 
Roman  world.” 

This  is  very  good  for  our  English  lawyer;  but  had 
he  been  acquainted  with  the  ancient  Brehon  laws  of 
the  Celts,  and  had  he  paid  more  consideration  to  the 
Christianity  foreshadowed  and  developed  in  the  Celtic 
nations,  he  would  not  have  given  the  entire  credit  to  a 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS. 


127 


passing  race  of  Roman  senators,  but  to  the  eternal 
idea  of  justice  in  the  Celtic  soul,  and  the  divinely  in- 
spired charity  of  that  Christian  faith  which  the  Celts 
embraced,  and  still  retain.  Roman  justice,  we  shall 
find,  was  revived  and  purified  by  Christianity,  after  it 
had  been  submerged  by  Gothic  ignorance  and  des- 
potism. 

Dr.  Fredet  (Ancient  History)  is  of  opinion  that 
Heaven  granted  the  empire  of  the  world  to  the  Ro- 
mans as  a reward  for  their  great  virtues.  He  says, 
“ We  must  acknowledge  that  the  providence  of  God 
was  the  primary  cause  of  Roman  greatness  and  pros- 
perity. Almost  from  the  beginning  of  their  national 
existence,  the  Romans  were  conspicuous  for  many 
noble  qualities ; during  several  centuries,  an  honorable 
poverty  and  simplicity  of  manners,  frugality,  sobriety, 
courage,  patriotism,  disinterestedness,  respect  for  law, 
fidelity  to  social  and  domestic  duties,  &c.,  were  virtues 
of  no  rare  occurrence  among  them.”  In  a note,  the 
author  says,  “ Divorce  was  not  of  frequent  occurrence 
among  the  Romans  till  the  latter  times  of  the  republic, 
[when  Gothic  slaves  and  mercenaries  were  numerous,] 
when  corruption  of  manners  had  already  made  fearful 
progress.  But  it  was  not  so  in  the  preceding  ages, 
[before  they  felt  the  Gothic  and  Eastern  influence.] 
Five  hundred  years  elapsed  after  the  building  of  the 
city  before  any  divorce  took  place  in  Rome ; the  first 
of  all  occurred  in  the  year  B.  C.  231,  and  still  the  Ro- 
mans were  no  more  than  a heathen  people.  What  a 
lesson,  and  what  a sad  rebuke,  to  some  Christian  na- 


128  CONDITION  OP  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

tions  ! ” But  this  is  only  a rebuke  to  the  Gothic  ancl 
Saxon  Christians,  who  look  upon  marriage  as  a mere 
bargain,  to  be  broken  when  desirable. 

The  history  of  pagan  mythology  shows  the  gradual 
corruption  of  manners,  and  the  ascendency  of  the 
wicked  and  unchaste  gods  over  the  beneficent  and 
pure  divinities.  Thus  the  Bacchanalia  was  at  first  a 
harmless  rural  ceremony,  by  men  only,  but  afterwards 
it  became  a sensual  orgie  of  both  sexes. 

The  mysteries  of  Ceres  and  her  virgin  train,  for- 
merly innocent  and  picturesque,  became  associated 
with  disgusting  midnight  debauchery. 

But,  in  the  midst  of  all  the  corruption  that  called 
loudly  for  the  birth  of  Christ,  we  may  observe,  that 
these  pagan  Celts  never  lost  a conscious  idea  of  vir- 
tue ; they  never  ceased  to  venerate  the  chaste  goddesses 
I have  mentioned.  Hercules  was  deified  because  he 
chose  the  hardships  and  self-denial  of  a virtuous  life 
before  the  soft  luxuries  of  vice. 

Even  the  mob,  in  the  worst  days  of  Rome,  respected 
virtue.  When  Cato,  during  his  censorship,  came  to 
look  at  the  Floralia,  the  ceremonies  were  suspended 
through  Rome,  till  he  thought  fit  to  withdraw,  such 
was  the  influence  of  virtue  over  the  dissolute  mob. 

It  is  also  to  be  remarked  that  the  obscene  fables  re- 
garding the  gods  and  goddesses  arose  out  of  a fear  of 
public  opinion. 

These  fables  were  invented  to  screen  certain  ladies 
from  public  infamy. 

While  the  mobs  indulged  in  obscenities  and  fables, 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  129 

and  even  ridiculed  the  gods  in  theatrical  representa- 
tions, there  is  no  doubt  that  the  ancient  public  and 
solemn  worship  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans  was  essen- 
tially virtuous  in  intention,  just  as,  in  our  own  day, 
religious  ceremonies  and  Christian  doctrines  are  re- 
spected and  practised  on  Sunday,  while  vice  and  in- 
justice rule  supreme  throughout  the  week. 

Among  the  pagan  Celts,  there  was  always  a public 
opinion  in  favor  of  chastity  and  womanly  dignity  ; 
there  was  always  a chosen  band  of  devoted  virgins, 
which  we  look  for  in  vain  among  Christian  Saxons  of 
the  nineteenth  century. 

In  the  worst  of  their  excesses,  the  pagan  Celts  were 
far  superior  to  these  so-called  Christian  English. 

Bossuet,  Catholic  Bishop  of  Meaux,  gives  great 
praise  to  the  ancient  Greeks.  He  shows  that  they 
had  an  inherent,  intense,  and  eternal  hatred  of  tyr- 
anny and  vice.  They  delighted  in  Homer’s  poems, 
because  they  celebrated  the  triumph  of  Grecian  liberty 
and  virtue  over  Asiatic  vice  and  despotism.  u On 
the  side  of  Asia  was  Venus,  that  is  to  say,  the  pleas- 
ures, idle  loves,  and  effeminacy  ; on  that  of  Greece  was 
Juno,  or,  in  other  words,  gravity,  with  conjugal  affec- 
tion, Mercury  with  eloquence,  and  Jupiter  with  wise 
policy.  With  the  Asiatics  was  Mars,  an  impetuous 
and  brutal  deity,  (whom  they  represented  with  a 
Gothic  head,  the  face  being  as  broad  as  it  was  long,) 
that  is  to  say,  war  carried  on  with  fury;  with  the 
Greeks  the  chaste  Pallas,  or,  in  other  words,  the  sci- 
ence of  war  and  valor,  conducted  by  reason.”  The 


130  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


Greeks  made  war  to  defend  the  honor  of  a husband, 
and  to  punish  wickedness.  The  Irish  did  the  same, 
when  the  English  took  up  the  cause  of  a base  traitor 
and  seducer.  The  result  has  not  been  equally  glorious, 
but  who  can  say  that  the  war  is  ended  ? 

“ Still  onward  the  green  banner  waving, 

Go ! flesh  every  sword  to  the  hilt ; 

On  our  side  is  virtue  and  Erin, 

On  theirs  is  the  Saxon  and  guilt.” 

The  Romans,  like  the  Greeks  and  Milesians,  fiercely 
resisted  insults  to  their  women.  Puffendorf  (Universal 
History)  shows  that  the  French  were  driven  nine  times 
out  of  Italy  because  of  their  insolent  familiarities  with 
the  fair  sex.  In  ancient  times,  the  Romans  often 
owed  the  restoration  of  liberty  to  the  same  spirit. 
The  deaths  of  Virginia  and  Lucretia  are  among  the 
grandest  scenes  in  human  history. 

From  the  foregoing  evidence,  I think  we  are  justified 
in  concluding  that  the  ancient  Celts  had  a great  ven- 
eration for  chastity,  that  our  pagan  mothers  were  so- 
cially free  and  dignified,  and  that  the  Celtic  woman 
was  unquestionably  a purer  and  nobler  being  than  was 
to  be  found  among  any  other  nations  of  antiquity. 

Eastern  sensuality  and  northern  savageism  had  crept 
into  Italy  and  Celtic  Europe  before  the  barbarians 
effected  the  downfall  of  the  empire. 

The  Almighty  gave  the  Light  to  the  world  when  it 
was  most  needed.  The  blessed  Virgin,  the  morning 
star,  shone  forth  when  the  ideas  of  purity  and  strict 
monogamy  were  trampled  under  foot,  even  in  Rome, 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  131 

the  centre  of  the  Celtic  nations.  Without  the  sword 
and  shield  of  Christianity,  Gothic  and  Tartar  despot- 
ism would  have  prostrated  the  white  human  race,  be- 
cause men  are  more  powerfully  affected  by  the  ex- 
ample of  vice  and  violence  than  of  peace  and  virtue. 


132  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


CHAPTER  VII. 

SLAVERY  AMONG  THE  ANGLO-SAXONS. 

The  history  of  Christianity  among  the  Anglo-Sax- 
ons began  with  the  sale  of  Saxon  children  by  their 
fathers,  and  it  ends  with  the  murder  of  English  chil- 
dren by  their  mothers. 

We  are  told  by  the  venerable  Bede,  that  the  Saxons, 
even  in  the  glory  of  triumph  and  prosperity  of  con- 
quest over  the  Britons,  sold  their  own  flaxen-haired 
children  to  merchants.  Some  of  these  children  found 
their  way  to  the  Roman  market,  and  it  would  appear 
that  this  unnatural  custom  of  the  savages  was  well 
known  ; that  it  filled  the  minds  of  the  noble  Romans 
with  horror,  and  that  they  considered  the  Saxons  of 
England  as  some  kind  of  half-brute  beasts,  as  ugly  in 
appearance  as  they  were  atrocious  in  character. 
Judge,  then,  the  surprise  of  the  holy  Gregory,  who, 
when  he  saw  the  children  of  A’sassans , exclaimed 
Non  Angli , sed  angeli , “ Not  Angles  but  angels.”  It 
was  the  surprise  a facetious  priest  might  express  in 
seeing  the  pretty  children  of  cannibals,  and  say,  “ These 
are  not  Sandwichers,  they  are  Bewitchers.” 

If  English  writers  were  not  so  thick-headed,  they 
would  cease  to  boast  of  this  anecdote,  which,  in  fact 
brands  their  race  with  infamy. 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  133 

Deira,  the  northern  province,  whence  the  children 
came,  was  lately  subjected  by  the  Saxons.  The  in- 
habitants were  still  mostly  Britons.  (Bede.)  These 
children  may  therefore  have  been  of  the  fair-haired 
race  of  old  Britons  in  the  north,  described  by  Otesar ; 
and  if  so,  the  Saxons  need  not  take  credit  to  them- 
selves for  the  beauty  ot  the  boys.  If  they  were,  as 
Bede  says  they  were,  Saxons,  then  the  rulers  and  par- 
ents of  these  fine  children  must  have  been  worse 

than  brutes  to  sell  them. 

\ 

The  children  may  have  been  British ; yet  this  would 
not  imply  that  the  Saxons  would  not  sell  their  own. 

The  English,  now  prevented  from  selling  their  babes, 
continue  to  make  money  by  butchering  them  in  thou- 
sands. The  English  historian,  Hume,  quoting  Taci- 
tus and  others,  says,  “ The  selling  of  themselves  or 
children  to  slavery  was  always  the  practice  among 
the  German  nations,  and  was  continued  among 
the  Anglo-Saxons.”  (P.  163.  Laics  of  Ince , sect. 
11.  Laics  of  Alfred , sect.  12.  Tacitus , de  Mor . 
Germ.) 

Some  writers  of  late  doubt  the  authenticity  of  this 
“ Angli,  sed  angeli  ” story.  However,  the  fact  remains 
that  Bede  relates  it,  and  he  would  not  give  credence  to 
such  a tale  if  it  had  not  been  a well-known  fact  that 
the  Saxons  were  in  the  habit  of  selling  their  children. 

The  prevalence  of  the  custom  may  have  suggested 
the  story.  The  incident  is  said  to  have  occurred  when 
the  Saxons  were  their  own  masters,  and  when  the 
Saxon  mothers  were  slaves.  It  is  ridiculous  to  talk 

12 


134  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

of  the  liberty  and  honor  of  German  women,  when  we 
know  that  all  history  presents  the  Saxon  child  as  a 
chattel,  and  the  Saxon  wife  as  a whipped  slave. 

I have  already  related  the  historic  fact  that  there 
were  no  hereditary  slaves  among  the  Irish  race.  But 
there  were  always  a class  of  foreigners  enslaved  as 
prisoners  of  war,  to  be  ransomed,  like  St.  Patrick,  but 
they  were  humanely  treated,  as  his  life  testifies. 

While  the  Saxons  were  rampant  in  England,  they 
sold  their  own  daughters  and  sons  as  slaves  into  Ire- 
land. Old  Irish  records,  especially  the  Book  of  Rights , 
show  the  great  extent  of  this  traffic. 

“ The  nation  of  saints  and  sages  ” Christianized  the 
Saxons  as  far  as  possible,  and  first  gave  them  laws 
and  letters,  (erroneously  called  old  English  letters.) 
But  it  turned  out  that  not  even  the  gospel  could  erad- 
icate the  Saxon  instincts.  The  Irish,  even  when  pa- 
gans, never  enslaved  their  own  wives  and  infants; 
they  never  sold  their  own  fair  daughters  to  infamy. 
Irish  pagans  were  better  than  the  so-called  Saxon 
Christians. 

When  the  Danes  had  established  themselves  in  the 
south-eastern  Irish  seaports,  the  Saxon  slave  trade  was 
briskly  revived. 

The  Irish  chiefs  bought  the  English  and  treated 
them  kindly  ; but  it  was  the  Danish  merchants  and 
pirates  who  seized  or  bought  the  “ live  stock  ” from 
English  parents  or  masters.  The  Danes  conducted 
the  horrible  preliminaries  of  the  traffic.  Danish  ships 
carried  the  round-headed  wretches  through  the  middle 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  135 

passage.  Lingard  indorses  the  numerous  records. 
English  and  Irish  testify  that  the  Danes  revived  the 
slave  trade  in  Ireland,  and  that  the  Saxons  cooperated, 
until  the  French  conquerors  and  the  Irish  themselves 
put  a stop  to  it.  All  the  English  slaves  in  Ireland 
were  liberated  by  an  act  of  the  council  held  in  Ar- 
magh, in  1171.  (See  Frontispiece .)  There  was  no 
compensation  spoken  of,  because  human  beings  were 
held  to  be  unlawful  property  in  Ireland.  In  the  pre- 
amble of  this  generous  deed,  the  Irish  council  takes 
occasion  to  remark,  however,  that  the  enslavement 
of  the  Anglo-Saxons  was  a just  chastisement  for  their 
own  slavish  and  tyrannical  habits  when  they  were 
still  a nation ; that  the  English  people,  while  yet  an 
independent  kingdom,  had  the  vice  common  to  their 
race,  ( communi  gentis  vitio ,)  to  expose  their  free-born 
for  sale,  and  that  they  used  to  sell  their  relatives  and 
children  to  the  Irish,  even  when  they  sustained  no 
wants  nor  privations. 

Here  are  the  words  of  the  preamble  to  the  act,  as 
quoted  by  the  old  English  historian  : — 

“ Anglorum  namque  populus  adhuc  eorum  integro 
regno  communi  gentis  vitio,  liberos  suos  venales  ex- 
ponere,  et  priusquam  inopiam  ullam  aut  inediam  sus- 
tinerent  Alios  proprios,  et  cognatos  in  Hiberniam  ven- 
dere  consueverant.”  (Ex  Giraldo  Cambrensi , cap. 
xxviii.  — Hibernice  expugnatcr, .) 

Irish  wills  and  Irish  annals  make  copious  allusions 
to  this  trade  in  Saxons.  It  is,  therefore,  a clearly  es- 
tablished fact,  that  the  Anglo-Saxons  sold  themselves 


J 36  CONDITION  OF,  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

into  slavery,  until  they  were  forcibly  prevented  by  the 
French  rulers.  The  laws  abolishing  Saxon  slavery 
are  in  the  French-Celtic  language,  and  in  the  Latin- 
Irish- Celtic  languages.  The  English  sold  themselves 
to  the  Irish  until  the  Irish  refused  to  buy  the  English. 

Ireland  was  invaded  by  the  Norman-French  and 
Welsh.  The  Saxons  went  there  only  as  slaves. 

Irishmen  used  to  buy  and  sell  English  women  and 
children,  but  they  never  sold  their  own  pure,  free 
blood.  Virginians  buy  and  sell  colored  people,  and 
sometimes  their  own  hybrid  offspring,  but  they  never 
prostitute  their  own  wives,  and  sell  their  own  pure- 
blooded  daughters,  as  did  the  Anglo-Saxons. 

Hallam  (Europe  during  the  Middle  Ages)  says, 
“ In  England  it  was  very  common,  even  after  the  con- 
quest, to  export  slaves  to  Ireland,  till,  in  the  reign  of 
Henry  II.,  the  Irish  came  to  a non-importation  agree- 
ment, which  put  a stop  to  the  practice.”  He  says  in 
a note,  “William  of  Malmesbury  accuses  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  nobility  of  selling  their  female  servants,  even 
when  pregnant  by  them,  as  slaves  to  foreigners.”  (P. 
102.)  I hope  there  were  not  many  of  these  Yaricos, 
and  should  not  perhaps  have  given  credit  to  an  histo- 
rian rather  prejudiced  against  the  English,  (his  own 
nation,)  if  I had  not  found  too  much  authority  for 
the  general  practice.  He  gives,  for  example,  the  act  of 
council  in  London,  1102 : “ Let  no  one  from  hence- 
forth presume  to  carry  on  that  wicked  traffic,  by  which 
men  of  England  have  hitherto  been  sold  like  brute 
animals.”  (Wilkin1  s Concilia .) 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  137 

Bat  the  English  disregarded  these  acts,  and  con- 
tinued to  deal  in  flaxen-haired  slaves,  until  the  Irish 
put  a stop  to  it.  Hallam  quotes  Cambrensis  on  the 
sale  of  Saxon  children  by  their  parents,  and  the  well- 
known  Irish  act  of  emancipation  for  Saxon  slaves  in 
Ireland.  Littleton,  the  great  English  law  authority, 
says  that  this  noble  conduct  of  the  Irish  seems  to 
have  been  designed  to  take  away  all  pretext  for  the 
threatened  invasion  of  Henry  II.  It  would  appear, 
then,  that  the  Norman,  in  threatening  to  fillibuster 
against  a peaceful  country,  made  pretence  of  freeing 
Saxon  slaves.  This  is  like  British  hypocrisy  at  the 
present  day,  in  regard  to  negroes.  If  he  was  so  zeal- 
ous for  the  freedom  of  Saxons,  why  did  he  permit  the 
Saxons  to  sell  themselves  to  the  Irish  ? Why  did  he 
not  march  his  forces  against  the  drivers  of  white 
slaves  in  Bristol?  The  kings  of  England  continued 
to  enslave  the  Saxons  until  the  French  priests  under 
Archbishop  Langton  wrung  Saxon  emancipation  and 
Magna  Charta  from  the  tyrant  crown. 

If  the  British  rulers  were  so  zealous  for  the  English- 
woman’s liberty,  why  did  they  hold  her  in  chains  as  a 
beast  of  burden  up  to  this  our  generation  ? 

The  world  can  record  nothing  more  generous  than 
the  act  of  the  Irish  for  the  emancipation  of  the  Saxon 
slaves. 

There  is  Celtic  British  blood  in  England,  but  the 
Saxon,  as  long  as  he  had  power,  never  relaxed  the 
slave  goad,  never  pitied  woman.  Bristol  was  the  last 
slave  market  in  England,  because  it  was  convenient 

12  * 


138  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

to  Ireland;  but  the  most  Saxon  and  most  Danish  pop- 
ulations of  the  east  and  north  of  England  were  the 
last  to  quit  “ selling  their  friends  and  relatives.”  Dr. 
Lingard  says  that  “ habit  and  the  pursuit  of  gain  had 
taught  the  Northumbrians  (the  most  Saxon  and  Da- 
nish district)  to  bid  defiance  to  all  the  efforts  of  the 
’ legislature.  Like  the  savages  of  Africa,  they  are  said 
to  have  carried  off  not  only  their  own  countrymen, 
but  even  their  friends  and  relatives,  and  to  have  sold 
them  as  slaves  in  the  ports  of  the  continent.  Bristol 
agents  travelled  through  every  part  of  England. 
They  were  instructed  to  give  the  highest  price  for  fe- 
males in  a state  of  pregnancy ; and  the  slave  ships 
regularly  sailed  from  that  port  to  Ireland,  where  they 
were  sure  of  a ready  and  profitable  market.  (Lin- 
gard, vol.  i.) 

Now,  let  this  historical  fact  be  recorded  and  kept  in 
mind,  that  the  institution  of  indecent  slave-breeding 
was  introduced  by  the  Anglo-Saxons  and  Danes,  and 
that  it  was  continued  in  spite  of  the  church  and  the 
government,  even  after  the  Norman  conquest. 

England  had  a great  many  saints,  but  their  example 
had  little  effect  upon  the  mass  of  the  people,  who 
never  heartily  loved  Christianity,  and  who  sank  into 
atheistic  paganism  after. the  reformation. 

Lingard  gives  ample  testimony  that  the  brutal 
slave-breeding  prevailed  in  the  twelfth  century. 

Hallam  (History  of  Middle  Ages)  could  not  credit 
William  of  Malmsbury,  who  testifies  that  it  prevailed 
in  the  early  Saxon  period,  until  he  inquired  of  other 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  139 

authorities,  such  as  old  laws,  the  surest  guides,  and  he 
found  too  much  authority  for  the  general  practice  to 
doubt  the  existence  of  the  Yaricos. 

Let  that  word  be  put  upon  the  Anglo-Saxon  mon- 
ument ; it  records  their  own  peculiar  institution. 

The  Irish  looked  upon  the  Anglo-Saxons  exactly 
as  a Virginian  now  regards  the  Negroes. 

That  the  Irish  preferred,  and  gave  the  highest  price, 
for  pregnant  English  females,  is  proof  that  these 
slaves  were  not  imported  for  the  purposes  of  prostitu- 
tion, but  to  serve  as  domestic  or  farm  drudges.  Nu- 
merous old  Irish  bequests  mention  fair-haired  Saxon 
servants  along  with  other  property. 

It  is  probable  that  the  Englishmen  were  yoked  and 
whipped  ; but  to  the  honor  of  Irishmen  be  it  said  that 
they  did  not  dishonor  their  female  slaves;  they  did 
not  systematically  practise  slave-breeding.  They  may 
have  kept  on  the  dog’s  collar  with  the  owner’s  name, 
which  the  Saxons  put  upon  each  other,  but  there  is  no 
evidence  that  the  Irish  chained  and  harnessed  women, 


OLD  ENGLISH  MODE  OF  BRANDING  WOMEN. 


140  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

or  tortured,  or  branded  them  with  hot  irons  in  the 
English  fashion.  On  the  contrary,  the  Irish,  when  ap- 
pealed to  by  their  clergy,  nobly  emancipated  the 
whole  of  the  Saxon  slaves  of  the  kingdom  without 
compensation . Had  the  French  and  Irish  acts  not 
compelled  the  Saxons  to  abandon  slavery,  it  is  certain 
that  England  would  still  be  a market  for  flaxen  hair 
as  well  as  woolly  hair. 

In  both  England  and  Germany,  the  Saxon  race 
used  to  sell  themselves  to  any  lord  who  would  feed 
them,  and  lead  them  to  plunder.  The  numbers  of 
those  who  surrendered  themselves  as  slaves,  and 
“ commended  themselves  to  some  kind  lord,”  was  so 
great  that  the  German  laws  provided  for  such  cases. 
(See  Kemble's  Saxons  in  England .) 

The  great  French  philosopher,  M.  Guizot,  may 
despise  the  civilizing  efforts  of  Christianity.  He  may 
trace  European  liberty  (where  is  it  ?)  to  the  Gothic 
savages  who  knew  no  law ; but  liberty  under  the 
restraints  of  civilization,  the  only  true  liberty,  could 
never  be  understood  by  the  Anglo-Saxon  and  Gothic 
tribes.  They  are  essentially  flunkies,  the  only  white 
race  that  debased  and  sold  themselves,  and  had  to  be 
prevented  from  doing  so. 

We  need  not  wonder  at  the  shocking  degradation 
of  the  Englishwoman,  when  we  know  the  enslaved 
condition  of  the  Englishman. 

“ That  Saxons  of  one  nation  (or  family)  made 
slaves  of  the  Saxons  of  another  nation,  if  taken  in 
war,  appears  from  Bede,  iv.  22.” 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  141 

There  was  a class  of  slaves  called  Ceorles,  attached 
• to  the  soil,  and  belonging  to  the  lord’s  property,  like 
the  cattle  ; these  slaves  u could  not  leave  the  spot  on 
which  they  were  born.”  But  who  can  sound  the 
depth  of  Saxon  thrall  ? Dr.  Lingard  says,  “ There 
remains,  however,  another  class  of  men,  of  still  inferi- 
or caste  ; slaves  in  the  full  sense  of  the  word,  and 
condemned  to  suffer  the  evils  of  bondage  in  its  most 
degrading'  form  .”  But  what  is  still  more  degrading, 
the  Anglo-Saxon,  if  poor,  in  order  to  get  good  feed- 
ing, used  to  enslave  himself  The  ceremony  is  thus 
described  : “ The  unhappy  man  laid  on  the  ground 
his  sword  and  his  lance,  the  symbols  of  the  free,  and 
took  up  the  fill  and  the  goad,  the  implements  of 
slavery,  and  falling  on  his  knees,  placed  his  head  in 
token  of  submission  under  the  hands  of  his  master.” 

What  would  such  a people  not  do,  what  have 
these  Saxons  not  done,  for  the  sake  of  their  god  — 
their  belly  ? For  seven  centuries  the  Irish  sacrificed 
their  lives  and  fortunes,  and  suffered  famine  rather 
than  yield  their  God-given  liberty.  They  perished  in 
myriads  rather  than  sell  their  souls,  and  take  the 
proselytizing  soup  of  perfidious  Albion. 

The  chaining,  whipping,  and  branding  with  hot 
iron,  and  sale  of  negro  girls,  was  in  fact  only  the  con- 
tinuation of  the  practices  of  the  Saxons  upon  their 
own  women.  Wade  says,  that  during  the  Saxon  pe- 
riod of  a thousand  years,  this  race  continued  in  a state 
of  savageism.  “ Two  thirds  of  the  people  were  either 
absolute  slaves,  or  in  an  intermediate  state  of  bondage 


142  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


to  the  remaining  third.  They  might  be  put  in  bonds 
and  whipped.  They  might  be  branded.”  Turner 
shows  from  the  old  laws  that  they  were  actually  yoked. 
“ Let  every  man  know  his  team  of  men,  of  horses, 
and  of  oxen.” 

Cattle  and  slaves  were  called  live  money , “ and  were 
the  medium  of  exchange  in  which  the  prices  of  com- 
modities were  estimated.” 

“ The  predominant  crimes  were  of  an  atrocious 
character  : assassinations,  female  violations,  the  plun- 
dering of  whole  towns  and  districts,  and  perjury,  were 
offences  of  ordinary  occurrence  by  persons  of  condi- 
tion.” “ Neither  persons  nor  property  were  secure 
from  violence.  And  robbery  from  the  absence  of  po- 
lice was  tolerated  as  a legitimate  vocation.”  I make 
these  quotations  from  English  authors,  to  show  what 
must  have  been  the  condition  of  woman  in  such 
societv. 

4/ 

Kemble  says  that  “ all  children  bom  of  slaves  were 
irrevocably  serfs  ; but  if  the  father  was  free,  the  child 
•became  free,  unless  the  mother  was  a slave  to  another 
man,  when  the  child  remained  his  property ; but  if  the 
mother  only  was  free,  the  child  could  not  be  free  : 
thus  woman  was  not  recognized  in  society,  and  had 
virtually  no  freedom,  until  the  church  stepped  in.” 
We  learn  further  that  the  Saxon  master  was  entirely 
irresponsible  for  his  flaxen-haired  slaves.  “ He  might 
beat  or  kill  them  at  his  pleasure.  If  a man  ran  away 
or  did  theft,  &c.,  he  was  flogged  to  death ; if  a 
woman,  she  was  burned.” 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  143 

These  laws  prove  that  there  was  always,  as  there 
still  is,  a surplus  of  slave  labor  in  England.  The  ne- 
gro is  higher  than  the  Saxon.  Men  do  not  kill  or 
starve  valuable  property. 

Indecent  slave-breeding  was  a profitable  virtue,  but 
theft  was  a damnable  offence,  for  which  men  were 
flogged  to  death,  and  women  burned  to  death.  Why 
this  distinction  ? 

Truly  these  Anglo-Saxons  are  an  eccentric  race  of 
Christians. 

The  goad  mentioned  above  was  used  to  drive  the 
male  and  female  slaves,  yoked  to  ploughs  and  carts. 
The  laws  refer  to  the  u teams  of  horses  or  of  men.” 
Each  Saxon  slave  wore  an  iron  collar,  with  the  own- 
er’s name  engraved  thereon. 

In  the  language  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  laws,  the  hus- 
band is  said  to  buy  his  wife,  and  her  parents  are  said 
to  sell  her.  No  dower  was  given  with  Saxon  brides. 
This  was  contrary  to  the  Celtic  custom,  that  put  the 
bride  on  an  equality  with  the  groom  — another  proof 
that  the  savages,  even  after  conversion,  considered  that 
women  were  only  slaves.  Christianity,  however, 
ameliorated  the  condition  of  the  weaker  sex,  and  the 
suitor  was  obliged  to  give  security  that  “ he  desired  to 
keep  her  according  to  the  law  of  God,  and  as  a man 
should  keep  his  wife.”  That  is  to  say,  Saxons  were 
bound  to  keep  their  wives,  not  according  to  old  Saxon 
law,  but  according  to  God’s  law,  and  not  to  prosti- 
tute them  by  sale.  But  after  all,  the  trading  in  women* 
continued  more  or  less,  as  long  as  the  Anglo-Saxons 
were  a nation. 


144  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

Cromwell’s  parliament  ordered  that  all  “ masterless  ” 
vagabonds  should  be  caught,  and  sold  in  the  American 
colonies.  From  the  earliest  Saxon  period,  every  man 
should  have  a master , or  owner,  responsible  for  his  acts. 
“ Even  a man  of  rank  could  not  leave  his  land  with- 
out fulfilling  certain  conditions. 

“ If  a runaway  was  caught  by  the  lord  in  pursuit , 
(so  called,)  he  was  severely  punished,  and  his  harbor- 
ers  fined.”  ( Kemble .) 

Fugitive  slave  laws  are  therefore  as  old  as  slavish 
Saxondom. 

Women  were  chained  and  yoked,  on  the  roads  and 
fields,  up  to  a late  date.  The  last  remnant  of  this 
slavery  was  in  the  mines ; women  are  yet  living  who 
were  thus  yoked ; men  are  living  who  saw  the  day 
when  Saxon  men  and  women  were  sold  with  the 
mines,  in  the  Saxon  Lowlands  and  north  of  England. 
(See  History  of  Glasgow .) 

Dr.  Lingard  says,  “ It  is  proper  to  add  that  the  sale 
and  purchase  of  slaves  publicly  prevailed  during  the 
whole  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  period.”  The  French  con- 
querors and  the  Irish  put  a stop  to  it.  Dr.  Lingard 
says  that  Bishop  Wulstan  persuaded  the  Bristol  mer- 
chants to  give  up  the  traffic  in  slaves  for  the  Irish  mar- 
ket. But  he  conceals  the  fact  that  the  Irish  them- 
selves had  put  a stop  to  it,  and  freed  all  their  English 
slaves,  without  asking  compensation.  Had  the  Irish 
continued  to  buy,  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  English 
would  have  continued  the  supply  of  Saxon  men,  wo- 
men, and  children. 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  145 

But  when  the  English,  after  the  Reformation,  had 
defied  the  law  of  Christendom,  they  revived  their  old 
slave  trade.  The  notorious  kidnappers  used  to  go 
about  stealing  children,  who  were  sold  in  other  parts 
of  the  kingdom,  or  into  America,  and  never  saw  their 
parents  any  more. 

These  English  kidnappers  were  particularly  busy 
among  the  rebel  Irish,  who  received  no  protection  from 
the  infamous  English  government.  Bancroft  shows 
that  the  English  courtiers  used  to  scramble  for  the  vic- 
tims, rebels,  criminals,  and  prisoners  of  war.  Twenty 
thousand  Scots,  taken  at  Dunbar,  were  sold.  The 
English,  even  after  solemn  treaties,  used  to  murder 
the  Irishmen  that  fell  into  their  power.  But  Irish- 
women, though  often  cruelly  massacred,  were  gen- 
erally sold  to  slavery,  (see  the  reports  of  the  republi- 
can commissioners  under  Cromwell,  who  recommended 
“ that  Irishwomen  be  sold  to  merchants,  and  trans- 
ported to  Virginia,  New  England,”  &c.)  This  was  in 
1652.  A manuscript  in  Dr.  Lingard’s  possession  gave 
the  total  number  sold  at  sixty  thousand.  Broudin,  a 
contemporary,  sets  it  at  one  hundred  thousand.  These 
Irishwomen  got  married  here  ; thus  their  Celtic  names 
have  been  lost,  but  they  formed,  nevertheless,  the  ma- 
jority of  American  mothers.  These  ladies  were 
mostly  exchanged  for  tobacco.  About  a hundred 
years  after,  we  find  that  the  whole  slave  trade  had 
ceased,  and  that  emigration  alone  prevailed.  Why 
was  this  ? 

In  one  year,  that  of  1729,  there  emigrated  to  the 

13 


146  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

single  province  of  Pennsylvania  no  fewer  than  6208 
persons,  of  whom  242  were  Germans,  267  English  and 
Welsh,  43  Scotch,  and  the  remaining  5653  all,  or 
mostly,  Irish.  '(Wade,  History  of  Working  Classes.) 

It  is  probable  that  England  would  have  continued 
the  white  slave  trade,  had  not  the  invention  of  negro 
slavery  given  a new  channel  for  English  enterprise. 
The  employment  of  negroes  was  intended  by  Spain 
to  Christianize  the  blacks,  and  benefit  the  red  men, 
who  were  too  weak  to  labor.  (See  Bancrofts  Amer- 
ica.) But  the  savage  English  converted  the  enterprise 
into  the  most  cruel  and  frightful  traffic  that  ever 
shocked  humanity.  Under  their  virgin  Queen  Bess, 
they  and  the  Dutch  monopolized  the  kidnapping,  and 
the  horrors  of  the  middle  passage.  The  English  gave 
up  selling  flaxen-haired  Saxons  when  they  were  forced 
to  it.  They  took  up  the  black  wool  trade,  and  gave  it 
up  too,  when  they  were  whipped  out  of  this  country. 
They  have  now  enslaved  the  Hindoos,  and  make  them, 
while  I write  this,  work  and  pay  taxes,  by  the  most 
cruel  system  of  ingenious  tortures  that  ever  demons 
conceived.  (See  the  official  Reports  on  Indian  Affairs.) 
The  British  want  a monopoly  of  slavery,  and  therefore 
they  strive  to  free  the  negro. 

Slavery  of  the  most  degrading  kind  “ existed  during 
the  whole  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  period,”  and  was  abol- 
ished by  the  French  and  Irish.  Let  that  be  put  on 
the  Pilgrim  monument  of  the  runaway  slaves  from 
Saxondom. 

. From  a perusal  of  Lingard,  McAuley,  and  others, 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  147 


we  learn  that  the  most  Saxon  and  Danish  parts  of 
Great  Britain,  that  is,  the  south-east  of  Scotland,  and 
north-east  of  England,  continued  longest  in  a state  of 
savageism  and  slavery.  Lingard  shows  that  the  slave 
trade  prevailed  longest  in  these  parts,  and  McAuley 
says  that  long  after  the  reformation,  the  Saxons  and 
Danes  in  the  north-east  of  England  were  half-naked 
savages,  who  might  be  seen  dancing  a war  dance  and 
brandishing  their  daggers,  while  the  women  squatted 
in  a circle  on  the  ground.  Will  Americans,  who  have 
heard  so  much  about  the  free-souled,  noble  Anglo- 
Saxons,  believe  this  fact,  that  the  parents  of  many  of 
the  present  generation  of  Saxon  colliers  were  bought 
and  sold  like  cattle,  along  with  the  pits  and  the  ma- 
chinery ? I learned  this  from  the  local  records,  and 
from  old  men,  who  were  themselves  sold  in  childhood, 
in  the  south  of  Scotland,  and  at  Newcastle-on-Tyne. 

Cobbett  describes  the  condition  of  woman  a gen- 
eration back  in  England.  She  was  as  much  the  slave 
of  her  husband  as  in  the  days  when  Englishmen  sold 
their  daughters  to  Irishmen. 

It  was  a common  thing,  says  Cobbett,  to  see  wo- 
men, half  naked,  working  like  beasts,  chained  to  carts 
upon  the  common  roads  in  England. 

In  the  report  of  Lord  Ashley’s  commission  on  the 
Factories  Bill,  it  appeared  that  there  were  over  five 
thousand  females  at  work  more  than  one  thousand 
feet  under  the  ground,  in  the  coal  mines  of  the  north 
of  England,  (the  most  Saxon  and  Danish  locality.) 
These  women  were  “ nearly  naked,  and  drew  trucks  in 


148  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


harness,  on  all  fours,  like  beasts  of  burden.”  They 
had  no  morals,  and  lived  promiscuously,  although  men 
claimed  certain  women  as  their  wives  and  daughters 
— their  property.  Some  of  these  colliers  were  asked 
if  they  knew  Jesus  Christ.  They  replied  that  no 
hand  of  that  name  had  ever  wrought  in  their  pit. 
The  owners  of  these  wretched  beings  are  the  men  who 
fume,  or  pretend  to  fume,  at  negro  slavery,  while  their 
wives  weep  over  Uncle  Tom’s  Cabin. 

The  Saxon  women  are  now  nominally  free  ; but  God 
knows,  and  the  world  knows,  that  they  are  now  more 
than  ever  the  slaves  of  Juggernaut  capital,  and  that, 
if  poor,  they  have  not  even  yet  a right  to  leave  their 
own  parish,  and  that  they  have  no  liberty  but  to  pros- 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  149 

titute  themselves,  or  starve,  or  go  to  the  bastile  when 
unfit  for  work. 

D’ Israeli,  in  the  Sybil,  thus  describes  the  English 
miners  coming  from  the  pits  in  the  evening : — 

“ They  come  forth : the  mine  delivers  its  gang,  and 
the  pit  its  bondsmen  ; the  forge  is  silent,  and  the  en- 
gine is  still.  The  plain  is  covered  with  the  swarming 
multitude : bands  of  stalwart  men,  broad-chested  and 
muscular,  wet  with  toil,  and  black  as  the  children  of 
the  tropics  ; troops  of  youth  — alas  ! of  bottr  sexes  — 
though  neither  their  raiment  nor  their  language  indi- 
cates the  difference  ; all  are  clad  in  male  attire ; and 
oaths  that  men  might  shudder  at  issue  from  lips  born 
to  breathe  words  of  sweetness.  Yet  these  are  to  be 
— some  are  — the  mothers  of  England!  But  can  we 
wonder  at  the  hideous  coarseness  of  their  language, 
when  we  remember  the  savage  rudeness  of  their  lives  ? 
Naked  to  the  waist,  an  iron  chain,  fastened  to  a belt 


ENGLISH  WOMAN  AND  CHILD  IN  A COAL  PIT. 


13* 


150  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

of  leather,  runs  between  their  legs  clad  in  canvas  trou- 
sers, while  on  hands  and  feet,  an  English  girl,  for 
twelve,  sometimes  for  sixteen  hours  a day,  hauls  and 
hurries  tubs  of  coals  up  subterranean  roads,  dark,  pre- 
cipitous, and  plashy  — circumstances  that  seem  to 
have  escaped  the  notice  of  the  society  for  the  abolition 
of  negro  slavery.  Those  worthy  gentlemen,  top,  ap- 
pear to  have  been  singularly  unconscious  of  the  suf- 
ferings of  the  little  trappers,  which  was  remarkable,  as 
many  of  them  were  in  their  own  employ. 

“ See,  too,  these  emerge  from  the  bowels  of  the 
earth!  Infants  of  four  and  five  years  of  age,  many 
of  them  girls,  pretty,  and  still  soft  and  timid;  in- 
trusted with  the  fulfilment  of  most  responsible  duties, 
and  the  nature  of  which  entails  on  them  the  necessity 
of  being  the  earliest  to  enter  the  mine,  and  the  latest 
to  leave  it.  Their  labor,  indeed,  is  not  severe,  for  that 
would  be  impossible,  but  it  is  passed  in  darkness  and 
in  solitude.  They  endure  that  punishment  which 
philosophical  philanthropy  has  invented  for  the  direst 
criminals,  and  which  those  criminals  deem  more  terri- 
ble than  the  death  for  which  it  is  substituted.” 

There  are  many  good-hearted  English ; but  the 
English  alone,  from  their  long  practice  in  driving  their 
own  Anglo-Saxon  women  as  beasts  of  burden, — -the 
English  alone,  from  their  long  practice  in  whipping 
their  own  white  slaves,  (like  Gurth,  the  swine-herd, 
with  iron  dog  collars  on  their  necks,)  — knew  how  to 
make  negro  slavery  atrocious  and  inhuman.  They 
who  used  to  strip  and  whip  their  own  women,  had 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  151 

little  compunction  in  exposing  naked  negro  girls  in 
the  Liverpool  markets,  and  branding  them  with  red 
hot  irons.  In  a recent  History  of  Liverpool,  these 
atrocities  are  pointed  out  — obscene  cruelties  covered 
over  with  the  usual  English  canting  hypocrisy.  Here 
is  an  extract  from  one  of  their  bills  of  lading : 
“ Shipped,  by  the  grace  of  God,  in  good  order  and 

well  conditioned,  by  James , in  and  upon  the 

good  ship  the  Mary  Borough,  &c.,  twenty-four  prime 
slaves,  six  women  slaves,  being  marked  and  numbered 


BRANDING  WOMEN  IN  THE  LIVERPOOL  SLAVE  MARKET. 


(with  hot  irons)  as  in  the  margin  (on  the  right  buttock 
o o)  and  are  to  be  delivered  in  like  good  order,  &c., 
and  so  God  send  the  good  ship  to  her  destined  port  in 
safety.  Dated  at  Senegal,  1st  February,  1786.” 


152  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AM1JNG 

“ Liverpool  has  been  a stronghold  of  the  anti-slavery 
societies  of  late.  But  its  foundation  was  laid  in  the 
slave  trade ; 4 the  Goree  Piazza ’ and  other  streets 
remain  monuments  of  the  fact  till  this  day.  Cooke 
said,  4 Every  stone  in  its  walls  was  cemented  with  the 
blood  of  plundered  Africans!’  And  this  is  the  town 
that  cants  most  against  Americans  holding  slaves.” 
[Rath  drum.) 

Mrs.  Stowe  has  drawn  the  portrait  of  a true  Saxon 
Goth  — the  brute  Legree.  Short  and  broad,  with  a 
revolting  aspect,  round  bullet  head,  light  gray  eyes, 
with  thin,  shaggy,  sandy  eyebrows,  stiff,  wiry,  sun- 
burnt hair,  large,  coarse  mouth,  hands  immensely 
large,  hairy,  sun-burnt,  freckled,  and  very  dirty,  and 
garnished  with  long  nails,  in  a very  foul  condition. 

It  is  such  Anglo-Saxons  who  have  made  slavery  a 
revolting  and  inhuman  institution.  Wherever  there  is 
the  blood  of  the  Goths,  be  assured  there  is  inhuman- 
ity, savageism. 

On  the  contrary,  where  we  find  a preponderance  of 
Celtic  blood,  as  in  Louisiana,  (which  is  a heaven  for 
the  black  man,  compared  with  Massachusetts,  where 
free  negroes  are  treated  like  dogs,)  the  negro  slave  is 
honored  and  happy,  compared  with  the  Anglo-Saxon 
pauper  or  menial  of  the  English  household. 

In  Louisiana,  there  are  many  humane  laws  in  favor 
of  the  black.  For  example,  no  master  dare  sell  or 
separate  the  mother  from  the  child,  as  44  the  guardians 
of  the  poor  ” do  in  England. 

44  In  New  Orleans  lately,  a man  named  Hunter  has 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  153 


been  sentenced  to  pay  a fine  of  a thousand  dollars, 
undergo  an  imprisonment  of  six  months,  and  forfeit 
certain  slaves,  whom  he  illegally  sold  in  such  a man- 
ner as  to  separate  the  mother  from  the  children,  con- 
trary to  the  laws  of  Louisiana.”  ( New  Orleans  Delta.) 

In  as  far  as  Americans  are  more  Celtic,  they  are 
more  humane  than  the  English.  Always  appreciating 
the  large  class  of  benevolent  people  in  England,  — 
we  must  remember  that  that  country  is  notorious 
among  the  nations  for  philanthropic  jobbing,  and  a 
singular  mixture  of  brutality  and  Bible  hypocrisy. 
The  English  slave-drivers,  who  left  here  a negro  legacy, 
having  stolen  the  negroes  and  used  them,  they  created 
a politico-religious  party,  to  pay  for  the  West  India 
slaves. 

Thus  the  cunning  rascals  pocketed  the  price  of  their 
stolen  property,  and  the  negroes  remained  in  a worse 
condition  than  ever.  How  different  the  emancipation 
of  the  Saxon  slaves  in  Ireland  ! 

I cannot  here  discuss  the  slave  question,  and  God 
forbid  that  I should  hide  the  cruelties  of  American 
slave-drivers.  I only  remind  the  reader  of  the  pal- 
pable fact,  that  the  negro  woman  and  child  under 
Celtic  control  in^  America,  is  superior  to  the  Saxon 
woman  and  child  under  the  English  poor  law  guar- 
dians. In  nearly  all  the  slave  states,  the  natural  bonds 
are  respected.  Paganism  is  not  so  prevalent  among 
the  negroes  as  it  is  among  the  English,  even  of  Lon- 
don, where,  as  Mayhew  says,  “ there  is  no  honor 
attached  to  marriage.” 


154  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

Here  disabled  and  aged  negroes  can  claim,  and  do 
receive,  a comfortable  support  as  long  as  they  live. 
They  are  not  imprisoned,  insulted,  herded  and  fed  like 
swine,  as  English  women  are. 

But,  after  all,  it  is  said  liberty  is  sweet,  and  the 
English  widow,  orphan,  and  aged  mechanic  can  go 
where  they  please.  That  is  a lie.  An  English  pau- 
per dares  no  more  leave  his  own  parish,  than  a Negro 
dares  leave  his  master’s  plantation.  English  vagrants, 
as  they  call  their  runaway  slaves,  are  dragged  back  as 
felons,  and  punished  with  the  tread-mill. 

Negro  slaves  have  short  hours  of  work  ; they  have 
time  to  earn  money  for  themselves,  and  purchase  their 
freedom  — the  master  not  daring  to  refuse  the  price. 
All  the  slaves  are  comfortable,  well  fed  and  housed ; 
most  of  them  have  a little  saved.  Some  of  them  are 
rich ; but  this  naturally  slavish  and  feeble-minded  race 
prefer  the  protection  of  “ kind  massa,”  who  is  respon- 
sible for  them  in  sickness  or  old  age. 

Negro  criminals  are  punished  far  less  severely  than 
the  transported  felons  of  England.  Her  slavish  sol- 
diers and  sailors  are  still  under  the  dog-lash  and  cat- 
tail. It  is  only  lately  that  they  ceased  to  lash  naked 
white  women. 

Negro  women,  under  Celtic  influence,  are  superior  to 
English  menials.  The  black  nurse  under  an  Ameri- 
can roof  is  musical,  religious,  affectionate,  and  untir- 
ing in  playfulness  and  attention  to  her  little  charge. 
But  the  unmusical,  matter-of-fact,  utilitarian  English 
mother  looks  coldly  through  her  white  eyelashes  at 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  155 

her  child,  while  perhaps  the  ideas  of  an  ogress  or  an 
economist  darken  her  mind. 

The  title  u Uncle  ” Tom  gives  the  lie  to  the  spirit 
of  that  work.  Do  English  children  respect  their  ser- 
vants, calling  them  “ Uncle  ” and  “ Aunt  ? ” No ! 
even  the  English  governess,  more  accomplished  than 
her  mistress,  is  treated  like  a spaniel.  The  black 
nurse,  the  “ Aunt,”  rules  the  children,  and  sometimes 
the  whole  house. 

There  are  many  joyous,  virtuous  women  among  the 
English,  but  the  nation  is  not  so  humane,  nor  so 
truthful,  nor  so  Celtic,  as  America.  Americans  do  not 
mock  their  slaves  by  telling  them  that  they  are  free. 
New  England,  it  is  true,  is  the  most  Saxonized  part 
of  America,  and  most  resembles  Old  England  in  fe- 
rocity, selfish  intolerance,  and  Bible  hypocrisy.  “ The 
day  comes,”  said  General  Dearborn,  lately,  u when  we 
must  massacre  the  foreigners,  or  make  them  our 
slaves.”  This  is  the  sentiment  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
party  who  lately  murdered  foreign  men  and  women, 
and  “ spattered  their  dead  bodies  with  the  brains  of 
their  infants.”  (See  the  Louisville  inquests,  where  it 
appears  that  the  savage  leaders  were  Anglo- Orange 
men.)  If  we  wanted  any  proof  that  New  England  is 
the  most  Saxonized  part  of  the  States,  we  have  it  in 
the  fact  that  she  has  hatched  and  propagated  Know- 
nothingism  and  Mormonism. 

In  New  England,  there  is  a large  element  of  benev- 
olence, as  there  is  in  Old  England.  But  the  element 
of  scoundrelism  has  always  predominated  in  that 


156  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

thriving  country.  Organized  hypocrisy  sends  fire  and 
sword  to  rob  and  murder,  to  fillibuster  — that  is,  to 
Christianize  and  protect  weak  nations.  The  reader 
knows  what  British  protection  means.  Jobbing  phi- 
lanthropy moves  heaven  and  earth  to  evangelize  and 
liberate  every  race  but  that  within  its  power. 

The  English  make  an  everlasting  boast  that  they 
are  utilitarians  — a practical,  common-sense  people ; 
political  economists,  who  subject  even  the  human 
commodity  to  the  law  of  supply  and  demand.  It  is 
interesting  to  trace  the  growth  of  this  Englishism 
from  the  early  germs  of  Saxon  institutions,  when  the 
Saxons  were  savages,  without  trade  or  commerce ; and 
when  their  slave  market  was  dull,  they  killed  off*  the 
surplus  children.  Allow  the  English  once  more  to  sell 
their  children  — then,  and  only  then,  they  will  cease 
abolitionizing  and  child-murdering.  We  may  suppose 
that  the  pope’s  laws  against  infanticide  were  respected 
when,  and  only  when,  the  slave  market  revived,  when 
the  demand  increased,  and  when  it  became  expedient 
even  to  breed  Yaricos,  just  as  the  pope’s  laws  against 
this  slave-selling  were  obeyed,  when,  and  only  when, 
the  demand  ceased,  in  1171.  But  it  revived  again 
when  the  Gothic  race  in  England  and  the  continent 
protested  against  any  more  Popish  interference  ; when 
English  kidnappers,  like  their  Saxon  forefathers, 
prowled  about  like  beasts  of  prey ; when  rovalists 
scrambled  for  the  enslaved  Presbyterians  and  Papists ; 
when  Cromwell  sold  ship-loads  of  Irishwomen  into 
America,  and  when  Puritans  butchered  hundreds  of 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  157 

virgins,  and  cut  out  babies  from  their  mothers,  who 
would  not  yield  to  heresy;  when  Anglo-Saxonism 
was  most  rampant,  then  slave-selling  and  witch-burn- 
ing were  most  prosperous. 

The  white  skin  trade  declined  only  when  the  trade 
in  black  wool  offered  a more  profitable  speculation. 
By  negro-selling,  England  made  that  wealth  which 
enabled  her  to  enslave  India.  When  she  was  whipped 
out  of  America,  she  got  the  fools  to  pay  for  her  West 
India  negroes,  and  she  has  striven  to  liberate  negroes 
here  in  order  that  she  may  have  a monopoly  of  slave 
labor  in  India.  Is  English  power  to  last  ? Has  the 
nature  of  the  Saxon  changed  ? Will  moral  force  con- 
vert him  ? 


14 


158  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  ANGLO-SAXON  NATION  NEVER  QUITE  CHRIS-  * 

TIANIZED. 

Dr.  Lingard  describes  the  Saxons  as  warlike  sava- 
ges, who  considered  labor  disgraceful  and  robbery  hon- 
orable. “ They  consigned  the  culture  of  their  lands 
and  the  care  of  their  flocks  to  the  meaner  labor  of  wo- 
men and  slaves  ; ” the  women  and  the  slaves  being 
held  in  the  same  category. 

We  have  seen  that  the  Roman  missioners,  knowing 
the  atrocious  character  of  the  Saxons,  considered  it  a 
desperate  and  hopeless  task  to  attempt  their  conver- 
sion by  pure  moral  force.  St.  Augustine  found  it  very 
difficult  to  induce  a party  to  go  with  him  to  Britain. 
When  they  landed,  they  were  received  by  King  Ethel- 
bert  and  his  queen,  Berta,  a Christian  Frenchwoman. 
By  her  influence  the  king  was  baptized,  and  of  course 
the  mass  of  Saxon  savages  and  slaves  were  ordered 
to  be  baptized,  to  the  number  of  ten  thousand,  in  the 
little  kingdom  of  Essex.  But  they  repeatedly  revolted, 
and  were  in  fact  only  Christians  in  name.  By  the 
laws  of  this  same  King  Ethelbert,  it  was  ordained  that 
“ any  one  who  committed  adultery  with  his  neighbor’s 
wife  was  obliged  to  pay  him  a fine,  and  buy  him  an- 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  159 

other  wife.”  (La  ivs  of  the  Anglo-Saxons,  published 
by  Lambert  and  Wilkins.) 

Dr.  Lingard,  being  a Catholic  priest,  is  excused  for 
passing  over  such  facts.  He  acknowledges  that  ex- 
traordinary indulgences,  not  extended  to  other  races, 
*were  necessary  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  savages. 

On  the  other  hand,  Protestant  historians  write  as  if 
the  priests  alone  were  vicious,  and  the  whole  tenor  of 
their  arguments  would  go  to  prove  that  the  Saxon 
savages  were  a very  noble  and  virtuous  people  until 
debased  by  Christian  doctrine  and  example.  Such 
stupid  falsehoods  are  peculiarly  English.  The  truth  is, 
and  the  key  to  English  history  is,  the  fact  that  preach- 
ing the  gospel  to  Saxons  was  casting  pearls  to  swine. 

It 'will  not  mend  the  matter  to  say  that  the  Saxon 
is  a white  man.  There  are  fair-haired  Finnish  races 
in  North  Europe  and  Asia,  who  are  physically  and 
morally  as  low  as  the  Negro,  not  to  mention  the  brutal 
Beshkirs  and  red-haired  Kaisacs,  who  hospitably  lend 
their  wives  to  travellers  for  a consideration.  ( W. 
Tooke .)  Calling  the  Saxon  a Caucasian  will  not 
alter  the  shape  of  his  head,  nor  change  the  nature  of 
his  savage  heart.  In  filibustering,  robbery,  and  mur- 
der, and  ruling  by  brute  force,  the  Saxon  will  always 
master  the  Negro. 

But  in  all  the  attributes  that  distinguish  the  man 
from  the  brute,  such  as  docility,  benevolence,  religious 
fervor,  love  of  music,  love  of  children,  the  Negro  sur- 
passes the  Saxon. 

The  great  historian,  M.  Guizot,  compares  the  condi- 


1G0  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

tion  of  the  ancient  Germans  and  the  modern  savages 
in  various  parts  of  the  world.  He  says, — 

“ You  will  be  astonished  at  the  resemblance  between 
the  manners  of  the  Germans  and  those  of  the  more 
modern  barbarians  — a resemblance  which  sometimes  1 
extends  into  details,  where  one  would  not  have  had 
the  slightest  idea  of  finding  it.”  He  makes  twenty- 
one  parallels  between  the  Germans  and  other  barba- 
rians. 

So  it  is  in  comparative  anatomy  of  the  Gotho-Ger- 
mans,  Saxons,  Kalmucks,  red  men,  and  Hottentots. 
These  have  a resemblance  in  anatomical  details  where 
one  would  not  have  had  the  slightest  idea  of  find- 
ing it. 

The  venerable  Bede  gives  the  correspondence  x^hich 
St.  Augustine  held  with  the  pope  regarding  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  converts,  and  it  proves  that  these  savages  had 
most  filthy  customs  ; that  they  had  no  ideas  of  that 
chastity,  and  the  rites  of  purification,  &c.,  which 
were  found  among  the  pagan  Celts. 

In  order  to  explain  the  philosophy  of  their  history, 
we  must  always  bear  in  mind  that  the  Angles  and 
Saxons  were  from  the  most  outlandish  and  savage 
tribes  of  the  Gothic  race,  inferior  to  the  Germans  on 
the  Rhine,  described  by  Tacitus.  Their  subsequent 
history  proves  this : they  did  come  from  the  far  north. 

We  find  them  acting  like  heathens  after  they  made  a 
pretence  of  Christianity. 

Eadbald,  the  second  Christian  king,  fell  in  love  with 
and  married  his  own  mother-in-law;  and  he  and  his 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS. 


161 


whole  people  immediately  returned  to  idolatry.  The 
history  of  the  entire  Saxon  period  is  little  better  than 
a succession  of  scandalous  and  murderous  crimes  in 
the  rulers.  What  must  have  been  the  state  of  the 
people  ? Pregnant  Saxon  women  were  proffered  in 
ithe  slave  market  in  certain  cases.  It  is  therefore 
doubtful  whether  marriage  was  recognized  among  the 
lowest  class  of  Saxon  slaves,  any  more  than  it  is  now 
ii  among  the  Negro  slaves.  When  the  Irish  and  Roman 
missioners  had  died  out  and  the  Saxons  were  left  to 
themselves,  they  seem  to  have  relapsed  into  a half-pa- 
gan state.  King  Alfred  describes  the  awful  demoral- 
ization of  the  country,  and  the  ignorance  of  the  native 
clergy.  Wade  (History  of  the  Working  Classes) 
shows  that  in  the  Saxon  period,  “ so  little  delicacy  was 
there  in  the  relations  of  the  sexes  that  societies  for 
promiscuous  intercourse,  of  the  nature  of  those  found 
in  the  Polynesian  Islands,  were  common,  and  the 
utility  of  the  marriage  institute  scarcely  recognized.” 
Free-loveism  is  not  a modern  Anglo-Saxon  develop- 
ment. 

The  Anglo-Saxons,  all  along  up  to  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury, practised  brutal  slave-breeding  for  the  foreign 
market.. 

We  have  already  seen  that  numerous  localities  in 
!“  Christian  ” England  had  an  infamous  notoriety,  like 
Sodom  and  Gomorrah. 

Infanticide  always  prevailed  in  England,  as  we  find 
by  the  laws  of  the  church  and  the  state  regarding  this 
crime.  (See  Kemble’s  Saxons  in  England .) 

14  * 


162  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


The  Christian  church  wages  eternal  war  against 
the  selfish  instincts  and  animal  passions  of  man  in  all 
nations  within  her  pale.  Her  priests  have  to  baptize 
and  begin  their  work  anew  with  every  new  generation. 
But  in  Celtic  nations,  virtue,  through  parental  example, 
became,  as  it  were,  hereditary.  In  the  Gothic  tribes, 
Christianity  held  only  a life  tenure.  “ Heathen  prac- 
tices remained  in  spite  of  the  Christian  missions. 
The  Christian  Franks,  when  they  invaded  Italy,  of- 
fered human  sacrifices.  The  martyrs  suffered  for  their 
4 Papal  aggressions  ’ on  the  good  old  Gothic  laws.  As 
late  as  the  twelfth  century,  (while  the  English  were 
still  breeding  and  selling  slaves,)  the  clergy  in  Germany 
were  still  occupied  in  eradicating  the  remains  of 
heathenism.”  ( B . Thorpe  on  Northern  Mythology .) 

Muller,  the  German  historian,  relates  how  Christi- 
anity received  the  strongest  opposition  from  the  Sax- 

* 

ons  in  Germany.  We  know  that  Charlemagne  had 
to  beat  them  into  at  least  a toleration  of  Christianity. 

I do  not  mean  to  deny  that  the  Anglo-Saxons  pro- 
duced saints.  I believe  that  a divine  and  miraculous 
power  converted  many  Saxons  into  Christians  ; but  I 
do  deny  that  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  at  large  have  ever 
yet  been  Christianized.  (See  Antiquities  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  Church .) 

Seeing  their  barbarous  condition  during  the  Heptar- 
chy, and  up  to  the  period  of  the  conquest  and  French 
settlement,  it  would  be  a gross  insult  upon  Christian- 
ity and  the  Catholic  church  to  say  that  the  Anglo- 
Saxons  were  Christians,  much  less  saints.  The 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  163 

bloody  ordeals  and  brutal  customs  of  their  old  pagan- 
ism which  they  persisted  in,  their  indecent  slave-breed- 
ing, and  their  inhuman  treatment  and  sale  of  their 
wives  and  children,  during  the  middle  ages,  form  a 
striking  contrast  to  the  Celtic  nations  of  Christians. 
While  England  shone  with  saints  and  noble  institu- 
tions, the  mass  of  slaves  and  tyrants  remained  in  a 
half-pagan  state.  This  was  fully  proved  at  the  period 
of  the  reformation. 

The  shocking  account  that  history  presents  of  the 
condition  of  the  ancient  Saxons  would  appear  fabu- 
lous, if  we  had  not  the  daily  evidence  that  the  English 
have  still  sanguinary  and  incestuous  propensities,  un- 
known in  other  civilized  nations. 

In  his  History  of  England,  Dr.  Lingard  is  more  free 
in  exposing  the  Saxon  character ; but  even  there  he 
passes  lightly  over  some  of  the  most  disgraceful  fea- 
tures of  Saxonism.  Some  of  these  I must  notice  as 
smoothly  as  possible. 

One  can  hardly  touch  English  morality  with  tongs  ; 
but  we  cannot  appreciate  the  priceless  jewel  of  Chris- 
tian faith,  without  contrasting  it  with  the  swinish  con- 
dition of  the  Goth. 

“ The  Saxon  kings  at  first  exercised  rights  over 
marriage,”  says  Kemble ; but  gradually,  as  Christian- 
ity prevailed,  the  connubial  sacrament  was  emanci- 
pated from  Gothic  rule. 

This  has  reference  to  a peculiarly  Gothic  institution 
which  the  noble  Anglo-Saxons  preserved  in  a certain 
shape  through  their  period  of  power. 


164  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  ANI)  CHILDREN  AMONG 

Both  on  the  continent  and  in  England,  the  Gothic 
lords  used  to  pick  and  choose  concubines  from  among 
the  daughters  of  their  vassals.  The  girls  were  usually 
carried  off  by  force  to  the  castle  dens.  The  Anglo- 
Saxons  recognized  the  rights  and  privileges  of  their 
lords  over  the  peasant  maidens  and  brides,  after  such 
rights  had  ceased  to  exist  on  the  continent. 

Dr.  Lingard  mentions,  but  seems  ashamed  to  ex- 
plain the  nature  of,  the  old  English  custom  called  ger - 
sume , or  merchetce  mulierum . This  was  a fine  which 
the  kings  exacted  for  waiving  their  ancient  right  to  the 
person  of  the  bride  of  any  dependent,  on  the  night  of 
marriage.  The  church  evidently  had  only  been  able 
to  check  this  iniquity  by  allowing  the  tyrants  to  exact 
a ransom  for  the  bride. 

Spelman  (in  voc.  Maritcig ) quotes  the  Doomsday 
Book , regarding  the  same  custom,  and  the  fines  exact- 
ed according  to  the  rank  of  the  bride.  This  base 
flunkyism  prevailed  in  all  ranks.  The  charters  grant- 
ed by  Henry  I.  and  King  John  show  that  the  ancient 
Saxon  custom  was  still  prevalent,  the  Norman  French 
having  continued  such  native  institutions  as  afforded 
profit.  The  Saxons  and  Danes  introduced  this  custom 
into  South  Scotland.  Buchanan  explains  its  nature, 
and  Boece  says  that  a mark  of  silver  was  the  compen- 
sation demanded  by  the  king  for  the  bride.  Low-born 
brides  were  ransomed  from  the  nobles  for  less  sums. 

The  gersume  appears  first  in  Scotland  after  the  ar- 
rival of  Queen  Margaret  and  the  Saxon  plantation  in 
the  Lowlands. 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  165 

McPerson  (Dissertations,  &c.)  says  that  from  its  to- 
tal absence  among  the  Celtic  clans  “ it  may  be  inferred 
that  the  old  Scots  [of  the  Lowlands]  stood  obliged  to 
their  neighbors  [the  English]  for  the  Merclietce  Mull - 
erumP 

If  you  want  to  get  right  at  the  bottom  of  English 
history,  you  must  not  rely  altogether  upon  native 
English  historians.  The  Scotchman  Buchanan  gives 
the  real  explanation  of  the  gersume , and  the  indecent 
liberty  which  it  gave  to  the  lord  over  the  daughters  and 
brides  of  the  Saxon  vassals.  According  to  Livingston’s 
(another  Scotchman)  quotations,  the  disgusting  power 
was  exercised  by  the  Danes  after  it  had  been  converted 
into  a fine  or  ransom  for  the  bride  among  the  Saxons. 
The  English  allowed  the  Danish  conquerors  a privi- 
lege which  had  anciently  existed  among  themselves. 
Dr.  Lingard,  oil  other  points  kiost  profound,  merely 
glances  over  this  custom,  after  it  had  been  abolished  by 
Christianity,  and  a ransom  for  the  female  substituted. 
He  says, — 

u There  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  Saxon,  like  the 
Norman  kings,  (and  their  example  was  probably  imi- 
tated by  inferior  lords,)  claimed  occasionally  the  ward- 
ship of  heiresses,  and  disposed  of  them  in  marriage. 
The  laws,  though  their  language  is  not  sufficiently 
explicit,  seem  to  allude  to  such  a custom.  They  pro- 
vide that  no  maid  or  widow  shall  be  compelled  to 
marry  against  her  will,  and  very  inconsistently  forbid 
the  female  to  be  sold  in  marriage,  while  they  allow  a 
present  to  be  accepted  [by  the  lord]  from  her  husband.” 


166  CONDITION  OF 'WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

Now,  these  laws  prove  that  Saxon  women  had  been 
compelled  to  marry  against  their  will,  and  in  obedience 
to  the  king  or  lord ; and  that  Saxon  women  had  been 
sold  in  marriage,  and  the  ransom  given  by  the  hus- 
band to  the  lord,  points  to  the  old  pagan  power  of  the 
lord  over  the  person  of  the  bride,  which  power  was 
restored,  for  a time,  by  the  pagan  Danes. 

The  principle  of  the  gersume  still  exists  among 
some  of  the  primitive  cousins  of  the  Saxon  in  the 
north.  (See  W.  Tooke's  Travels , and  C.  L . Brace's 
Norse  Folk,) 


AN  ANGLO-SAXON  TAKING  IIIS  PROPERTY  TO  MARKET. 


A worthy  gentleman  on  the  Topographical  Survey 
told  a friend  of  mine  that  he  witnessed  an  instance 
of  it  among  the  Germans  of  Pennsylvania.  The 
public  sale  of  a wife  with  a halter  round  her  can  still 
be  seen  occasionally  in  England  ; and  we  shall  find 
evidence  that  the  sale  of  the  wife’s  honor  is  still  a 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  167 

common  English  practice.  Sweet  memorials  of  an- 
cient usage  ! 

No  converted  nation  made  slower  progress  in 
Christianity  than  the  Anglo-Saxons.  As  late  as  the 
Danish  invasion,  we  find  them  easily  yielding  to  gen- 
tile pollution  and  debasement.  In  every  Celtic  country 
we  see  the  principle  of  66  death  before  dishonor,”  arid 
crowds  of  heroic,  unflinching  martyr  maidens  butch- 
ered. The  infanticidal  Englishwomen  alone  submit- 
ted to  infamy.  The  Englishman  alone  has  system- 
atically yielded  up  the  honor  of  his  wife  or  daughter 
through  fear  or  avarice.  There  were  crowds  of  holy 
nuns  and  priests  in  England  who  suffered  martyrdom, 
it  is  true  ; but  the  people,  the  nation  at  large,  that  na- 
tion that  afterwards  crawled  to  the  brutal  Harry  and 
the  bastard  Bess,  that  nation  submitted  to  the  most 
infamous  debasement — the  dishonor  of  their  women. 
The  Saxons  were  any  thing  but  deficient  in  courage  ; 
but  they  were  a base,  selfish  race,  and  they  did  not 
think  enough  of  their  women  to  sacrifice  their  lives 
for  them.  What  could  be  expected  from  a nation  of 
white  slave-breeders,  who  trafficked  in  their  own  flesh 
and  blood,  and  who  were  always  glad  of  a good  mar- 
ket for  their  women  ? The  reader  of  history  knows 
that  the  Gothic  tribes  never  respected  the  helpless 
women  of  the  conquered.  The  pagan  Saxons  who 
came  into  Britain,  and  who  fought  against  Charle- 
magne, wrere  peculiarly  brutal.  This  same  race,  in  a 
nominally  Christian  state,  we  find  crouching  under 
pagan  barbarism,  and  shutting  their  eyes  to  the  Da- 


168  CONDITION  OP  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


nish  pollutions  in  their  own  houses.  Livingston,  of 
Glasgow,  would  even  make  it  appear  that  the  Danes 
took  every  infernal  plan  to  degrade  the  English,  and 
that  these  pagans  used  to  dishonor  English  wives  and 
daughters  in  the  presence  of  their  husbands  and  broth- 
ers, who  should  have  defended  them  with  their  lives. 

This  looks  like  exaggeration ; but  there  is  even  a 
worse  feature  authenticated  in  English  history.  When 
the  English,  under  the  Celto-educated  Alfred,  and  the 
Celtic  heroes  of  Devonshire  and  Cornwall,  had  broken 
the  Danish  power,  the  Saxon  nobles  and  gentry  kept 
bands  of  Danish  mercenaries.  These  pagans  were 
distinguished  from  the  English  gentry  by  their  cleanly 
habits,  bathing,  changing  their  clothes,  and  combing 
their  hair.  “ By  all  these  arts  of  effeminacy,  as  well 
as  by  their  military  character,  they  rendered  themselves 
so  agreeable  to  the  fair  sex,  that  they  debauched  the 
. { wives  and  daughters  of  the  English,  and  dishonored 
many  families.”  ( Wallingford  and  other  old  English 
. writers  quoted  by  Hume.) 

We  can  believe  that  “ the  English  wore  dogs’  col- 
lars, and  did  eat  dirt,”  under  the  rampant  Danish  con- 
querors, when  we  find^Saxon  princes  and  gentry  al- 
lowing their  own  mercenaries  to  convert  their  houses 
into  brothels.  The  English  actually  submitted  to 
this,  because  they  valued  woman’s  honor  lightly ; but 
when  they  discovered  these  Danes  plotting  with  the 
enemy,  then  they  treacherously  murdered  them  when 
they  were  bathing. 

The  so-called  Saxon  Christians  were  little  better 

* 

V 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  169 


than  the  Danish  pagans  ; and  they  were  not  so  clean- 
ly. They  put  the  Danes  to  death  by  torture,  and 
spared  neither  sex  nor  age. 

“ Even  Gunilda,  sister  to  the  King  of  Denmark, 
who  had  married  Earl  Paling,  and  had  embraced 
Christianity,  was,  by  the  advice  of  Edrick,  Earl  of 
Wiltz,  seized  and  condemned  to  death  by  Ethelred, 
after  seeing  her  husband  and  children  butchered  be- 
fore her  face.”  As  every  historian  knows,  this  is  but 
an  average  sample  of  incidents  that  track  the  whole 
Anglo-Saxon  period. 

The  Saxons  were  treacherous,  fierce,  and  sanguina- 
ry, when  their  property  was  in  danger,  but  lambs  of 
Christian  resignation  when  only  their  wives’  and 
daughters’  honor  was  at  stake. 

It  was  the  Devonshire  and  Welsh  Celts  who  stoutly 
and  successfully  resisted  the  Danes,  and  gave  men  and 
moral  courage  to  King  Alfred. 

The  Irish  resisted  the  Danish  hosts,  and  finally 
drove  them  out.  The  Irish  suffered  death  before  dis- 
honor to  their  women.  The  Danish  King  Turgesius 
demanded  select  virgins  for  himself  and  chieftains; 
they  expected,  of  course,  that  the  Irish  would  comply, 
as  the  Saxons  had  done.  But  instead  of  young  ladies, 
a band  of  handsome  young  Irishmen  went  in  female 
attire,  and  slew  Turgesius  and  his  Danish  libertines. 
The  Gothic  hosts  were  soon  routed,  and  the  Emerald 
Isle  freed  from  their  disgusting  presence. 

At  the  reformation,  the  county  of  Devonshire  was 
particularly  prominent  in  its  opposition  to  the  new 

15 


170  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

state  church,  and  the  new  married  clergy,  who  seized 
the  inheritance  of  the  poor.  And  it  was  not  until  the 
unarmed  peasantry  were  subdued  by  those  mercenary 
German  bayonets,  ever  at  the  service  of  despots,  that 
the  law  church  was  established  among  the  most  Celtic 
people  of  England. 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  171 


CHAPTER  IX. 

SAVAGEISM  OF  ANGLO-SAXON  LEGISLATION. 

As  the  Anglo-Saxons,  Germans,  and  Dutcho-Irish 
Orangemen  converted  the  blessed  gospel  of  peace 
into  a bloody  Koran  and  penal  code  against  Papists,  so 
they  made  the  image  of  the  Virgin  worthy  only  of  a 
niche  in  hell.  They  made  an  instrument  of  torture 
which  outwardly  represented  the  blessed  Mother. 

This  machine  opened  out  in  front,  and  was  inside 

'tip 

studded  with  sharp  spikes  to  pierce  the  eyes,  heart, 
&c.,  of  the  victim.  When  a condemned  man  was 
put  into  the  embrace  of  the  Virgin,  it  closed  upon 
him,  piercing  him  to  death.  This,  in  the  ghastly  wit 
of  the  Goth,  was  called  “ the  Virgin's  kiss." 

We  must  look  into  the  history  of  Germany  and 
of  England  for  the  origin  of  the  most  cruel  tortures 
of  Protestants  upon  Catholics,  and  Catholics  upon 
Protestants. 

Even  in  Spain  and  Italy,  the  worst  atrocities  of  the 
Inquisition  may  be  traced  to  the  influx  of  Moorish  and 
Gothic- Austrian  blood  and  influence.  The  Celtic  na- 
tions, even  in  paganism,  were  not  bloo^'  minded. 

From  the  early  persecutions  of  Christians  by  Diocle- 
tian and  the  other  Gothic  rulers  and  mercenaries  to  the 
latest  murders  in  the  name  of  Christ  by  Orangemen, 


172  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


we  can  perceive  the  taint  of  Gothic  blood.  Christian 
chivalry  itself,  originated  by  Celtic  Christians,  became 
a demoniacal  institution  in  the  hands  of  the  Teutonic 
Knights. 

You,  Anglo-Saxons,  and  Dutchmen,  and  Danes,  are 
the  descendants  of  the  savages  who  were  anciently 
infamous  in  Europe  for  massacring  sucking  infants, 
and  tossing  them  from  spear-top  to  spear-top.  “ Jam 
pueros  sursum  jactatos  lancearum  acumine  susceperunt .” 


THE  OLD  SCANDINAVIAN  BANNER.  MODE  OF  TREATING  ENEMY’S  CHIL- 
DREN BY  GOTHS,  SAXONS,  AND  OTHER  CARNIVOROUS  SAVAGES. 

The  Gothic  ancestors  of  the  race  that  now  execrate 
nuns,  degrade  mothers,  and  strangle  their  own  chil-  ; 
dren,  used,  like  wild  beasts,  to  tear  open  pregnant 
women,  drag  the  infants  from  the  womb,  and  raise 
them  on  spear-tops  — “ Parvuli  a matrum  uberibus 


[H.  Hunt , p.  347.) 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHI£,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  173 

avulsiy  aut  lanceis  excipiuntur .”  [Roger  de  Hoveden , 

p.  431.) 

The  same  horrors,  the  same  Saxon  ways  of  respect- 
ing helpless  women,  were  enacted  also  in  Ireland  as 
late  as  the  sixteenth  century,  not  by  the  Norman 
French,  but  by  the  low,  Saxonized  Puritan  ruffians 
under  Cromwell,  the  enemies  of  God  and  of  the  Irish. 
(See  O’  Conne IPs  Memoir  on  Ireland,  for  the  original 
authorities,  and  Meehan's  edition  of  The  Geral- 
dines.) 

These  horrible  accounts  of  Saxon  bloodthirstiness 
and  brutality  towards  Irish  women,  and  British 
women,  would  be  altogether  incredible,  had  we  not 
the  unquestionable  authority  of  English  history  itself, 
regarding  the  treatment  of  Anglo-Saxon  women  by 
their  own  protectors. 

It  is  an  historical  fact  that  the  English  rulers,  dur- 
ing the  American  war  of  independence,  used  regular- 
ly to  receive  large  packages  of  scalps  of  American 
men,  women,  and  children,  and  even  of  babies  “ cut 
out  of  their  mothers’  bellies.”  The  scalps  were  regu- 
larly marked  with  hieroglyphics,  to  show  the  sex,  the 
age,  and  the  manner  in  which  the  victims  were  slaugh- 
tered. Yet  this  violating  of  virgins,  this  slaughtering 
of  women,  and  tearing  of  infants  from  their  mothers’ 
wombs,  was  knowingly  encouraged  and  paid  for  by 
the  highest  class  of  Englishmen  in  the  eighteenth 
century. 

* Colonel  Schaffher  has  been  the  last  to  call  attention 
to  this  fact.  He  gives  a copy  of  one  list  of  scalps, 

15* 


? 

OLD  ENGLISH  MODE  OF  EXECUTING  A WOMAN  FOR  TREASON. 

* 

The  English  method  of  execution  for  high  treason, 
&c.,  was  to  half  hang  the  victim,  to  cut  him  down, 
strip  him,  and  while  yet  alive  to  rip  up  his  bowels, 
drag  out  the  heart  and  entrails,  and  fling  them  into  a 
fire.  The  body  was  then  divided  into  four  quarters 
and  parboiled,  the  head  stuck  on  a pole,  and  the 
quarters  hung  up  in  various  parts  of  the  city. 


174  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  A^D  CHILDREN  AMONG 

taken  from  the  original  document.  (See  the  New 
York  Herald , Jan.  20,  1856.) 

Contrast  the  German  brutality  of  George  III,  who 
presided  over  these  horrors,  and  the  Celtic  genius  of 
the  sublime  Burke,  who  protested  against  them. 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  175 

Women,  as  well  as  men,  were  thus  executed  for 
high  treason. 

During  a famine  among  the  English  settlers  in  Vir- 
ginia, one  of  them  killed  his  wife,  salted  her,  and  had 
part  of  her  eaten  before  it  was  known,  for  which  he 
was  executed. 

The  English  allowed  the  Indians  in  their  service  — 
the  Mohegans  — to  torture  their  prisoners.  One  was 
torn  asunder  by  fastening  one  leg  to  a post  and  tying 
a rope  to  tl\e  other,  by  which  they  pulled. 

On  one  occasion  the  Puritans  treacherously  slaugh- 
tered and  burned  alive  about  six  hundred  men,  women, 
and  children.  Increase  Mather  says,  “ This  day  we 
brought  six  hundred  Indian  souls  to  hell.” 

Hubbard  says  that  the  English  allowed  the  Indians 
to  torture  prisoners  to  death,  “ lest  by  a denial  they 
might  disoblige  their  Indian  friends ; partly,  also,  that 
they  might  have  an  ocular  demon:  nation  of  the  sav- 
age, barbarous  cruelty  of  the  heathen.”  The  English 
also  introduced  the  beheading  and  quartering  of  trai- 
tors, that  is,  the  Indian  chiefs  who  fought  to  save  their 
homes  and  families. 

I have  made  some  extracts  from  Irish  history,  exhib- 
iting the  manner  in  which  the  English  used  to  treat  a 
fallen  foe  ; fallen,  in  most  cases,  through  confidence  in 
the  treaties  and  the  honor  of  the  Sassanach.  No 
wonder  that  this  word,  Saxon , came  to  signify  all  that 
is  perfidious  and  fiendish.  Irishmen  were  usually 
murdered  by  drowning,  hanging,  or  shooting,  after 
treaties  guaranteeing  safe  conduct.  One  Englishman 


176  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

invited  the  Irish  gentry  to  dinner,  and  after  they 
arose  from  table,  had  them  hanged,  “and  caused 
their  heads  to  be  broken  with  hatchets  before  execu- 
tion.” Some  are  murdered  in  their  beds : other  poor 
fellows  are  asked  to  dig  a pit;  it  is  their  graves. 
One  treacherous  Englishman  asks  his  Irish  guide  to 
blow  into  his  pistol,  and  so  shoots  him  dead.  In  many 
cases  there  is  a wholesale  slaughter  of  women  and 
children  smothered  in  caves  or  hacked  to  pieces,  in- 
fants’ brains  dashed  out  against  the  wall,  thousands 
burned  alive  in  woods,  old  people  burned  in  their 
houses,  individuals  roasted,  men  emasculated  and 
blinded,  women’s  breasts  cut  off,  soldiers  surrendering 
on  quarter  being  disarmed  and  treacherously  murdered, 
and  the  hearts  of  some  of  them  pulled  out  and  put 
into  their  mouths.  (See  O'ConnelVs  Memoir , Val- 
laneey , See.) 

The  English  aie  ever  saying,  “ We  are  not  as  our 
savage  fathers  were.”  When  Smith  O’Brien  and  T. 
F.  Meagher  were  condemned  for  high  treason,  — that 
is,  for  attempting  to  save  the  poor  expiring  people 
from  the  hellish  jaws  of  England,  — these  traitors 
were  sentenced  to  be  hanged,  drawn,  and  quartered, 
and  their  remains  disposed  of  according  to  the  pleas- 
ure of  her  sacred  majesty.  She  might  hang  them  up 
to  dry,  or  make  soup  or  sausages  of  them,  as  best 
pleased  her  royal  *xvhim.  John  Bull’s  fear  of  a re- 
bellion and  of  depreciating  stocks  prevented  him  from 
carrying  his  savage  design  into  execution. 

The  laws  of  the  Anglo-Saxons,  like  those  of  other 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  177 


carnivora,  were  most  cruel  and  diabolical.  When  the 
Goths  overran  the  empire,  and  even  after  their  tribes 
were  nominally  Christianized,  it  required  the  whole 
power  of  the  church  to  save  the  people  from  the  tor- 
tures of  the  Saxon  executive. 

The  Peace  of  God  and  the  asylums  from  law  indi- 
cate the  fiendish  spirit  of  the  Gothic  judicature.  The 
greatest  punishment  that  the  church  could  inflict  upon 
a rebellious  child  was  to  drive  him  forth,  to  excommu- 
nicate him,  to  hand  him  over  to  the  civil  law,  which 
was  tantamount  to  giving  him  up  to  demons.  Half 


OLD  ENGLISH  MODE  OF  PUNISHING  WOMEN  BY  MUTILATING  EYES, 
NOSE,  MOUTH,  AND  EARS,  AND  BY  AMPUTATIONS. 

hanging,  disembowelling  alive,  quartering,  amputation 
of  hands  and  feet,  scalping,  putting  out  the  eyes  with 
hot  irons,  cutting  off  the  nose,  ears,  and  upper  lip,  burn- 
ing alive,  ordeals  of  fire  and  boiling  water,  were  among 
the  Saxon  modes  of  punishment  for  theft,  witchcraft, 
&c.  Yet,  strange  to  say,  a man  might  murder  as 


178  CONDITION  OP  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


OLD  ENGLISH  PRACTICE  OF  PUTTING  OUT  CHILDREN’S  EYES  WITH 

HOT  IRONS. 

many  people  as  he  chose,  if  he  could  only  pay  certain 
fixed  sums*  The  head  of  a poor  family  was  of  far 
less  value  than  a rich  thane’s.  Such  were  the  clemen- 
cy and  wisdom  of  u our  Anglo-Saxon  ancestors.” 

“ The  law  of  the  Visigoths  enjoins  that  the  slaves 
of  the  house  shall  be  obliged  to  bind  the  man  and 
woman  they  surprise  in  adultery,  and  to  present  them 
to  the  husband  and  to  the  judge  — a terrible  law, 
which  puts  into  the  hands  of  such  mean  persons  the 
care  of  public,  domestic,  and  private  vengeance ! ” 
(j Montesquieu.) 

The  same  indecent  severity  was  manifested  by  the 
English  in  that  law  which  condemned  every  woman 
who,  having  carried  on  a criminal  commerce,  did  not 
declare  it  to  the  king  before  her  marriage,  violated  the 
regard  due  to  natural  modesty.  It  is  as  unreasonable 
to  oblige  a woman  to  make  this  declaration,  as  to 
oblige  a man  not  to  attempt  the  defence  of  his  own 
life.  ( lb .) 

“ The  law  of  Henry  II.,  which  condemned  the  woman 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  179 

to  death  who  lost  her  child,  in  case  she  did  not  make 
known  her  pregnancy  to  the  magistrate,  was  not  less 
contrary  to  self-defence.  It  would  have  been  suf- 
ficient to  oblige  her  to  inform  one  of  her  nearest 
relations,  who  might  watch  over  the  preservation  of 
i the  infant. 

“ Gundebald,  King  of  Burgundy,  decreed,  that  if  the 
wife  or  son  of  a person  guilty  of  robbery  did  not  re- 
veal the  crime,  they  were  to  become  slaves.  This  law 
was  contrary  to  nature  : a wife  to  inform  against  her 
husband ! a son  to  accuse  his  father ! to  avenge 
one  criminal  action,  they  ordained  another  still  more 
criminal. 

“ There  has  been  much  talk  of  a law  in  England 
which  permitted  girls  at  seven  years  of  age  to  choose 
a husband.  This  law  was  shocking  two  ways  : it 
had  no  regard  to  the  time  when  nature  gives  maturity 
to  the  understanding,  nor  to  the  time  when  she  gives 
maturity  to  the  body.”  ( Montesquieu .) 

u Our  ancestors,  the  ancient  Germans,  lived  under 
a climate  where  the  passions  were  extremely  calm. 
Their  laws  decided  only  in  such  cases  where  the  injury 
was  visible  to  the  eye,  and  went  no  farther.  And  as 
they  judged  of  the  outrages  done  to  men  from  the 
greatness  of  the  wound,  they  acted  with  no  other  del- 
icacy in  respect  to  the  injuries  done  to  women.  The 
law  of  the  Allemans  on  this  subject  is  very  extraordi- 
nary. If  a person  uncovers  a woman’s  head,  he  pays 
a fine  of  fifty  sous  ; if  he  uncovers  her  leg  up  to  the 
knee,  he  pays  the  same ; and  double  from  the  knee 


180  CONDITION  OP  WOMEN  ANI)  CHILDREN  AMONG 

upwards.  One  would  think  that  the  law  measured 
the  insults  offered  to  women  as  we  measure  a figure 
in  geometry  ; it  did  not  punish  the  crime  of  the  imagi- 
nation. but  that  of  the  eye.  In  their  punishments 
they  seem  rather  to  humor  the  revengeful  temper  of 
private  persons,  than  to  administer  public  justice. 
Thus,  in  most  cases,  they  reduced  both  the  criminals  to 
be  slaves  to  the  offended  relations,  or  to  the  injured 
husband.”  ( Montesquieu .) 

“ That  the  women  among  the  ancient  Germans 
were  likewise  under  a perpetual  tutelage,  appears 
from  the  different  codes  of  the  Laws  of  the  Barbari- 
ans. This  custom  was  communicated  to  the  mon- 
archies founded  by  those  people,  but  was  not  of  a long 
duration.”  (lb.) 

St.  Boniface,  writing  from  Germany  to  Ethelbald, 
King  of  Mercia,  who  was  leading  an  evil  life,  says 
that  if  a married  woman  or  virgin  among  the  old 
Saxons  was  convicted  of  incontinency,  she  was 
strangled,  and  her  body  burned  ; or  she  was  stripped 
and  publicly  scourged  on  the  back  by  women,  and 
stabbed  with  knives,  first  in  one  village,  then  in  the 
next,  and  so  round  the  country,  till  she  expired  under 
her  torments.  The  treatment  of  poor  Jane  Shore  was 
a mild  imitation  of  this  old  institution  of  the  pagan 
Goths. 

It  is  a strange  inconsistency  in  English  writers,  that 
they  record  the  severe  marital  laws  of  the  Saxons, 
both  pagan  and  Christian,  as  if  they  were  the  only 
savages  who  kept  their  wives  in  order,  and  still  more 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  181 

inconsistently  do  they  praise  the  brutal  severity  of 
husbands. 

Dr.  Lingard  says,  “ The  importance  of  conjugal 
fidelity  was  understood  and  enforced  by  the  ancient 
Saxons,  even  before  their  conversion  to  Christianity. 
The  jealousy  of  the  husband  guarded  with  severity 
the  honor  of  his  bed ; and  the  offending  wife  was  fre- 
quently compelled  to  be  herself  the  executioner  of  his 


A SAXON  HANGING  HIS  WIFE,  SHE  BEING  OBLIGED  TO  FIX  THE 

ROPE  ROUND  HER  OWN  NECK. 

vengeance.  With  her  own  hands  she  fastened  the 
halter  to  her  neck  ; her  strangled  body  was  thrown  into 
the  flames ; and  over  her  ashes  was  suspended  the 
partner  of  her  guilt.  On  other  occasions  he  delivered 
her  to  the  women  of  the  neighborhood,  who  were 

16 


182  CONDITION  OP  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

eager  to  avenge  on  their  unfortunate  victim  the  honor 
of  the  female  character.  They  stripped  her  to  the 
girdle,  and  scourged  her  from  village  to  village,  till  she 
sank  under  the  severity  of  the  punishment.  But  if 
the  justice  of  the  Saxons  was  inexorable  to  the  dis- 
turbers of  connubial  happiness,  they  indulged  them- 
selves in  a greater  latitude  of  choice  than  was  con- 
ceded to  the  more  polished  nations,  whom  the  wisdom 
of  civil  and  religious  legislators  had  restrained  from 
marrying  within  certain  degrees  of  kindred.  The  son 
hesitated  not  to  take  to  his  bed  the  relict  of  his 
deceased  father,  nor  was  the  widow  of  the  dead 
ashamed  to  accept  the  hand  of  the  surviving  brother. 
These  illicit  unions  shocked  the  piety  of  the  first  mis- 
sionaries ; and  to  their  anxious  inquiries,  Gregory  the 
Great  returned  a moderate  and  prudent  answer.  He 
considered  the  ignorance  of  Saxons  as  deserving  of 
pity  rather  than  severity  ; commanded  the  prohibition 
of  marriage,  which  was  regularly  extended  to  the 
seventh,  to  be  restricted  to  the  first  and  second  genera- 
tions ; and  advised  the  missionaries  to  separate  the 
converts  who  were  contracted  within  these  degrees, 
and  exhort  them  to  marry  again,  according  to  the  ec- 
clesiastical canons.” 

These  indulgences,  unknown  among  Celtic  Chris- 
tians, were  granted  by  the  pope  because  the  Saxon 
character  was  well  known ; yet  writers  praise  the  chas- 
tity of  pagan  Saxons. 

When  the  Saxonized  nobles  got  temporary  power, 
in  the  Puritan  period  of  England,  the  old  Gothic  in- 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  183 

stinct  guided  the  popular  superstitions,  and  poor,  weak, 
defenceless  widows,  and  old  maids,  and  beautiful 
young  girls,  the  objects  of  envy,  were  sacrificed. 

During  the  witchcraft  time,  the  English  burned 
about  thirty  thousand  women,  generally  poor  retired 
females,  who  had  no  man  to  defend  them.  The  vic- 


A WITCH  IN  THE  HANDS  OF  THE  SAINTS. 


tims  were  bound  hand  and  foot,  and  thrown  into  deep 

water.  If  they  floated,  that  was  evidence  of  a guilty 

magical  power,  and  they  were  taken  out  and  burned 

at  the  stake,  while  the  “ rigidly  righteous  ” sung 

psalms.  If  the  accused  sank  and  were  drowned,  that 

was  evidence  that  they  were  innocent,  and  it  was  a 

pity  they  were  drowned!  ( Chambers’s  Journal) 

“ The  Puritans  hanged  their  old  women,  because  it 

is  written, 4 The  witch  shall  die.’  ” [Bancroft.) 

Woman  is  physically  weaker  than  man,  and  there- 

% 


184  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

fore  the  pagan  Saxons,  like  all  other  carnivorous 
savages,  subjected  their  females  to  the  most  cruel 
slavery.  Under  the  gospel  dispensation,  they  have 
always  legislated  and  quoted  Scripture  against 
woman’s  rights. 

The  old  English  custom  of  whipping  women  was  a 
practice  of  the  northern  tribes,  from  whom  the  Sax- 
ons are  descended.  English  ladies  stripped  their 
female  servants  and  scourged  them  for  small  offences. 
Shakspeare  gives  immortal  record  to  the  English  cus- 
tom of  flogging  naked  women  publicly.  The  story 
of  Jane  Shore  affords  a striking  illustration  of  the  hu- 
miliating and  cruel  treatment  of  weak  woman  in 
England.  She  was  obliged  to  Avander  barefoot  in  a 
white  sheet,  and  no  man  dared  give  her  meat  or  drink, 
and  no  woman  ventured  to  relieve  her.  She  died  mis- 
erably in  the  streets,  abandoned  by  the  slavish  popula- 
tion, most  of  whom  were  far  worse  than  this  unfortu- 
nate victim  of  kingly  lust. 

It  is  remarkable  that  Saxon  prudery  and  piety  have 
always  been  manifested  in  a ferocious  zeal.  Bancroft, 
the  American  historian,  relates  that  the  Puritans  re- 
strained every  thing  by  the  cruelest  despotism,  mutila- 
tions, and  “ whipping  women  was  common.” 

As  late  as  the  reign  of  George  III.  “ flogging  was  a 
common  punishment  of  women  convicted  of  larceny.” 
(See  Dickens's  Household  Words , April,  1850.) 

The  Saxon  woman  was  lashed  like  a dog,  or  sold 
like  a heifer,  by  her  own  husband  and  father,  and  in 
her  turn  the  Saxon  mistress  used  to  scourge  her 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  185 

naked  female  slaves.  (See  the  old  pictures  repre- 
senting this  practice  in  the  London  Art  Journal , 
1854.) 


ANGLO-SAXONS  WHIPPING  A WOMAN  AT  THE  CART’S  TAIL. 


Verstegen  says,  if  either  wife  or  maid  (among  the 
old  Saxons)  were  found  in  dishonesty,  her  clothes 
were  cut  off  round  about  her  beneath  the  girdle,  and 
she  was  whipped  and  turned  out,  thus  naked,  to  be 
derided  of  the  people  — a peculiarly  Saxon  way  of  im- 
proving morals.  Archbishop  Magunee,  reproving  Eth- 
elbald  for  his  unclean  life,  declareth  the  punishment 
of  such  offences  to  have  been  among  the  old  pagan 
Saxons  far  more  severe  than  is  here  set  down.  What 
these*rpunishments  were  we  learn  from  Henry.  (His- 
tory of  Great  Britain .) 

16  * 


186  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

He  boasts  that  the  German  ancestors  of  the  Sax- 
ons were  very  chaste.  “ The  husband  of  an  adulteress, 
in  the  presence  of  her  relations,  cut  off  her  hair, 
stripped  her  almost  naked,  turned  her  out  of  his  house, 
and  whipped  her  from  one  end  of  the  village  to  the 
other.” 

Another  boaster,  following  Tacitus  on  German 
morality,  says  that  an  adulteress  used  to  be  stripped 
naked,  and  the  women,  full  of  pious  fury,  whipped  her 
along,  and  pierced  her  flesh  with  their  scissors  and 
bodkins. 

The  Jews  and  others  put  faithless  women  to  death ; 
but  this  manner  of  stripping  women  naked,  and  put- 
ting them  to  public  torture  by  the  hands  of  men  and 
women,  was  peculiar  to  the  Saxon  and  Gothic  types 
of  men. 

How  different  the  awful  but  merciful  domestic  tri- 
bunals of  the  noble  old  Romans  and  Western  Celts, 
who  readily  adopted  the  mild  teaching  of  Christ ! 

A Celtic  woman  might  fall,  but  her  better  sisters 
would  not  torture  and  trample  on  her,  much  less  would 
they  expose  her  nakedness  to  the  public.  Even  the 
Turks  abhor  indecent  exposure,  preferring  to  give  their 
women  the  sack. 

The  most  sensual  races  — those  that  practise  polyg- 
amy — are  also  the  greatest  tyrants  in  punishing  faults 
in  their  women.  This  we  see  in  the  barbarous  East 
and  North. 

Among  the  savages  who  are  little  better  than  brute 
beasts,  women  are  tortured  or  put  tf)  death  for  adul- 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  187 


tery,  not  because  they  have  any  idea  of  virtue  in  the 
abstract,  but  because  tyrant  man  will  not  allow  female 
property  to  have  a will  of  her  own. 

New  Zealand  women  were  not  only  condemned 
to  death,  but  in  many  cases  were  afterwards  eaten  — 
an  effectual  means,  as  Mr.  Polack  says,  of  “ annihilat- 
ing the  enemy  to  public  morals  and  decency.” 

The  disgusting  cruelty  of  the  Germans  and  Saxons 
towards  their  women  is  therefore  no  proof  of  a chaste 
disposition. 

The  polygamous  Turk  and  the  sensual  Saxon,  who 
have  least  claim  upon  woman’s  affection  and  fidelity, 
are  the  most  cruel  lords  and  masters. 


ANGLO-SAXON  WOMEN  WITH  IRON  COLLAR  AND  MUZZLE. 

In  Ballou’s  Pictorial,  November,  1856,  there  are  il- 
lustrations of  the  German  instrument  of  torture,  “ the 
virgin,”  and  of  the  English  instrument  of  torture, 
“ the  bridle,”  used  to  punish  scolding  wives.  It  con- 
sisted of  a kind  of  muzzle  made  of  iron,  with  a sharp 
spike  in  the  mouth,  so  that  if  the  woman  attempted  to 
speak,  her  tongue  got  wounded.  With  this  humiliat- 


188  CONDITION  OP  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

ing  muzzle  on  the  head,  Englishwomen  who  ventured 
to  give  u back  jaw”  to  their  male  owners  were  com- 
pelled to  walk  the  streets,  exposed  to  the  derision  of 
the  rabble. 

There  was  also  the  famous  “ ducking  stool,”  on 
which  English  mothers  were  carried  through  the 
streets  to  the  horse-pond,  where  they  were  thrown  in, 
amid  the  jeers  of  the  enlightened  English.  What 
must  have  been  the  brutality  of  the  husband,  and  the 
humiliation  of  the  child,  to  see  the  mother,  perhaps 
for  no  fault,  returning  home  like  a drabbled  slut! 

I find  in  a New  York  paper  that  some  lawyer  in 
Carbondale  City,  Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania,  has 
been  lecturing  on  this  subject  of  English  woman’s 
rights.  An  extract  is  given,  beginning  with  my  very 
words  already  published. 

“ 4 In  the  London  Art  Journal  of  1854,  and  agree- 
ing with  Macaulay,  we  find  that  the  Saxon  woman 
was  lashed  like  a dog,  or  sold  like  a heifer  by  her  hus- 
band or  father,  and  in  her  turn  the  Saxon  mistress 
used  to  scourge  her  naked  female  slaves.  Yet  Black- 
stone  highly  extols  the  liberty  and  wise  common  law 
of  England,  when  in  fact  the  only  common  civiliza- 
tion which  England  had  at  an  early  period  was  from 
Rome,  Hibernia,  or  Gaul.  Saxon  laws ! Neverthe- 
less, even  amongst  men  of  education,  we  find  many 
who  laud  and  glory  in  the  laws  of  England,  as  if  the 
very  code  so  highly  extolled  had  not  been  imported 
into  that  island  ; and  it  is  an  undeniable  fact  that  a 
large  number  of  English  laws  enacted  by  themselves 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  189 

are  no  credit,  and  do  not  sustain  the  fulsome  adulation 
of  the  talented  bigot  Blackstone.  I shall  lay  it  down 
as  an  established  axiom,  that  in  whatever  country  the 
rights  of  the  fair  sex  are  protected  and  guarded  with 
the  greatest  care,  there  civilization  and  refinement  are 
advanced  to  a high  standard.  But  by  the  common 
law  of  England,  as  laid  down  by  Blackstone,  vol.  i. 
chap.  15,  the  husband  was  allowed  to  give  corporal 
chastisement  to  his  wife,  in  the  same  manner  that  a 
man  is  allowed  to  correct  his  apprentice,  or  his  own 
children.  The  lower  ranks  of  the  people,  who  are  al- 
ways fond  of  the  old  common  law,  still  claim  and  ex- 
ert their  ancient  privilege.’  Barbarous ! and  on  the 
same  page  he  has  those  words : 4 So  great  a favorite 
is  the  female  sex  of  the  laws  of  England ! 5 Gildas, 
who  wrote  his  Ex.  Brit.,  etc.,  about  565,  says,  4 The 
Saxons  were  the  most  brutal  and  perfidious  of  all  the 
German  tribes.’ 

44  The  same  commentator,  vol.  i.  p.  445,  n.,  says, 
4 Female  virtue  is  perfectly  exposed  to  the  slanders  of 
malignity  and  falsehood,  for  any  one  may  proclaim  in 
conversation  that  the  purest  maid  and  chastest  matron 
is  the  most  meretricious  woman  with  impunity,  or 
free  from  the  animadversion  of  temporal  courts.’ 
Thus  we  see  the  compound  folly  or  knavery  of  the 
commentator,  when  he  says,  4 So  great  a favorite  is 
the  female  sex  of  the  common  law  of  England ! ’ 
The  cool,  unblushing  falsehood  and  effrontery  of 

Blackstone  cannot  be  surpassed. 

* 

44 4 The  husband  and  wife  are  styled  baron  and 


190  CONDITION  OP  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

femme . The  word  baron , or  lord , attributes  to  the 
husband  not  a very  little  courteous  superiority.  But 
we  might  be  inclined  to  think  this  merely  an  unmean- 
ing, technical  phrase,  did  we  not  recollect  that  if  the 
baron  kills  his  femme , it  is  the  same  as  if  he  had 
killed  a stranger  or  any  other  person.  But  if  the 
femme  kills  the  lord,  or  baron,  it  is  a species  of  trea- 
son ; and  for  every  species  of  treason  the  punish- 
ment or  sentence  of  woman  was  to  be  drawn  and 
burned  alive,’  up  to  the  36  George  III.  chap.  48. 
The  3 and  4 William  and  Mary,  chap.  9 — 4 By  the 
common  law  all  women  are  denied  for  capital 
felonies  the  benefit  of  clergy,’  also  4 for  simple  lar- 
ceny, bigamy,  or  manslaughter  ; ’ 4 though  a man  who 
could  read,  for  such  offences  was  only  subject  to  burn- 
ing on  the  hand  and  a few  months  imprisonment.’ 

* 44  Again  in  his  fourth  book,  chap.  1,  on  public 
wrongs,  amongst  other  things,  he  says,  4 We  may  glory 
in  the  wisdom  of  the  English  law.’  And  on  the  very 
same  page  are  these  words : 4 It  is  a melancholy 
truth,  that  amongst  the  variety  of  actions  which  men 
are  liable  to  commit  daily,  no  less  than  one  hundred 
and  sixty  have  been  declared  by  act  of  Parliament  to 
be  felonious  without  benefit  of  clergy,  or  in  other 
words,  to  be  worthy  of  instant  death  : so  dreadful  a 
list,  instead  of  diminishing,  only  increases  the  num- 
ber of  offenders.’  And  now,  fellow-citizens  of  this 
glorious  republic,  what  think  you  of  English  laws, 
which,  with  poll-parrot  flippancy,  are  lauded  by  base 
and  corrupt  presses  for  baser  purposes?  Figure  to 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  191 

your  minds  what  those  one  hundred  and  sixty  crimes 
must  have  been,  that  did  merit  death  by  the  merciful 
laws  of  England,  so  late  as  the  reign  of  George  III., 
in  the  days  of  Sir  William  Blackstone. 

“ In  4th  vol.,  p.  49,  he  says,  4 The  writ  to  burn 
heretics  was  enforced  in  two  cases  against  Anabap- 
tists, in  the  17  Elizabeth,  and  against  two  Arians, 
in  the  9 James  I. ; although  in  the  prior  page  he 
says,  4 that  by  the  1 Elizabeth,  chap,  i.,  all  former 
statutes  relating  to  heresy  are  repealed.’  The  truth  is, 
v religious  intolerance  and  persecution  made  crime  in 
England  where  none  existed ; and  I am  bold  to  de- 
clare, without  fear  of  contradiction,  that  a more  big- 
oted, beastly,  and  brutal  code  of  laws  did  not  exist  in 
any  other  nation  in  Europe  than  there  did  in  Eng- 
land, from  Henry  VIII.  to  George  III.  No  matter 
what  circumstances  brought  them  into  existence. 
Thus  the  contrast  between  such  a monarchy  and  this 
happy  land  endears  to  our  minds  our  own  republican 
institutions.” 

The  reader  may  not  have  noted  the  most  horrible 
feature  in  Anglo-Saxon  punishments  — the  denial  of 
“ benefit  of  clergy ; ” that  is,  to  be  instantly  put  to 
death  without  receiving  absolution  from  the  priest. 
“ Benefit  of  clergy  ” ordinarily  meant  the  exemption 
of  clerics  from  trial  by  civil  courts.  In  the  case  of 
woman,  it  would  appear,  by  this  lawyer,  to  mean  in- 
stant death . 

The  Catholic  church  had  a terrible  battle  to  fight 
against  the  innate  brutality  of  the  Goth.  The  admin- 


192  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

istration  of  the  last  sacraments  was  not  only  consid- 
ered in  most  cases  necessary  to  salvation,  but  also 
afforded  a merciful  delay,  and  chance  of  reprieve  for 
the  victim  ; but  the  malignant  tigerism  of  the  English 
contrived  to  defeat  as  often  as  possible  the  Christian 
influence,  and  it  was  therefore  customary  to  kill  per- 
sons, women  particularly,  when  caught  in  the  act  of 
theft,  for  instance,  believing  that  their  souls  would  go 
to  hell,  and  burn  there  for  all  eternity.  Instances  of 
this  horror  may  perhaps  be  quoted  in  all  countries  ; but 
in  England  it  was  an  institution  daily  practised,  and 
founded  in  the  carnivorous  constitution  of  the  people. 
It  is  the  climax  of  demonism. 

We  learn  from  Kemble  that  the  Saxons  used  to 
murder  their  superfluous  babes ; and  Dr.  Lingard 
shows  how  they  murdered  their  wives  at  pleasure. 
Query . Was  the  priest  called  in  to  baptize  the  child 
or  confess  the  wife  before  execution  ? I think  not 
usually. 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  193 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  BASENESS  OF  ENGLISH  PUBLIC  OPINION,  AND 
THE  INJUSTICE  AND  CRUELTY  OF  ENGLISH  LAW 
IN  REGARD  TO  WOMAN. 

From  what  I have  quoted,  and  have  yet  to  quote,  it 
will  appear  undeniable  that  the  Anglo-Saxon  woman 
and  the  German  frau  were  personally  slaves  of  the 
most  degraded  class  in  ancient  or  modern  Europe. 
Even  the  women  of  the  nobles  were  denied  rights  of 
person  and  property. 

It  was  the  Goths  who  introduced  such  laws  as  the 
salic,  excluding  women  from  power  to  rule  or  hold 
property.  These  laws  were  innovations,  opposed  to 
the  Roman  law,  and  abhorred  by  the  Gauls.  German 
women  were  held  as  property,  and  could  own  nothing 
of  their  own.  Tacitus  (chap.  18)  says,  “ Dotum  non 
uxor  marito , sed  maritus  uxori  confert .” 

Hallam  shows  that  in  the  laws  of  the  Thuringians 
and  Saxons,  women  were  excluded  from  holding  prop- 
erty, and  “ the  ancient  lawgivers  of  the  Salian  Franks 
prohibited  the  females  from  inheriting  the  lands  as- 
signed to  the  nation  upon  the  conquest  of  Gaul,  both 
in  compliance  with  their  ancient  usages,  and  in  order 
to  secure  the  military  services  of  every  proprietor.” 
Now,  these  laws,  he  tells  us,  were  framed  by  a Chris- 

17 


194  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

tian.  They  could  not,  therefore,  have  been  more  se- 
vere than  pagan  ancient  usages. 

He  says  of  this  exclusion  of  women,  “ But  this 
usage  was  repugnant  to  the  principles  of  Roman  law, 
which  the  Franks  found  prevailing  in  their  new 
[Celtic]  country,  and  to  the  natural  feeling  which  leads 
a man  to  prefer  his  own  descendants  to  collateral 
heirs.  One  of  the  Precedents  in  Marculfus  (1.  ii.  form. 
12)  calls  the  exclusion  of  females  diuturna  et  impia 
consuetudo  — an  ancient  and  impious  custom.”  In 
another  passage  of  Marculfus,  a father  addresses  his 
daughter  on  the  cruelty  of  this  law  among  the  Ger- 
mans — “ apud  Germynos .” 

'Jr 

“ These  Precedents  are  supposed  to  have  been  com- 
piled  about  the  latter  end  of  the  seventh  century.” 
They  were  therefore  written  when  old  German  cus- 
toms were  well  known.  But  such  historical  facts  are 
overlooked  by  men  who  wish  to  discredit  the  civilizing 
influence  of  the  Catholic  church,  and  to  glorify  the 
Saxon. 

They  rest  their  whole  argument  on  the  remark  of 
Tacitus,  that  the  Germans  adored  witches,  overlooking 
the  undeniable  fact  that  German  and  Saxon  women 
were  at  the  same  time  slaves.  A future  historian 
might  as  well  say  that  Negresses  were  all  chaste,  free, 
and  highly  honored,  because  some  of  them  are  re- 
spected as  fortune  tellers. 

In  the  early  history  of  the  Saxons,  we  do  not  find 
that  woman  held  any  dignity  whatever,  nor  any  influ- 
ence, further  than  what  a queen  might  exercise  as  the 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  195 

wife  of  the  ruler.  This  title  and  dignity,  which  we 
first  find  in  the  person  of  Berta,  daughter  of  the  King 
of  France,  was  afterwards  abolished  by  the  Saxons, 
in  consequence  of  the  crime  of  the  murderess  Ead- 
burga.  There  is  no  historical  evidence  to  show  that 
the  early  Saxons  allowed  to  females  any  more  power 
or  privilege  than  did  their  brother  Germans. 

Montesquieu  says  that  the  salic  custom  of  excluding 
females  from  possession  of  property  existed  among 
the  Franks  long  before  they  left  Germany.  But  the 
salic  law,  he  shows,  became  considerably  modified  in 
certain  cases.  He  says,  “ It  would  be  easy  for  me  to 
prove  that  the  salic  law  did  not  absolutely  exclude  the 
daughters  from  the  possession  of  the  salic  land,  but 
only  in  the  case  wThere  they  were  debarred  by  their 
brothers.” 

The  laws  of  these  barbarous  nations,  who  all  sprang 
from  Germany,  interpret  each  other,  more  particularly 
as  they  all  have  nearly  the  same  spirit.  The  Saxon 
law  enjoined  the  father  and  mother  to  leave  their  in- 
heritance to  their  son,  and  not  to  their  daughter;  but 
if  there  were  none  but  daughters,  they  were  to  have 
the  whole  inheritance. 

The  learned  writer  in  the  Westminster  already 
quoted  concludes  his  article  rather  lamely,  in  my 
humble  opinion.  He  slurs  over  the  fact  that  the 
Gothic  invasion  into  the  Roman  empire  destroyed  the  • 
liberty  and  dignity  of  woman,  and  he  does  not  as 
much  as  acknowledge  the  fact  that  woman’s  liberty 
and  honor  were  restored  by  the  revival  of  Celtic  and 


196  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

Roman  law,  under  the  influence  of  the  Catholic 
church,  and  in  spite  of  Gothic  feudal  tyralmy. 

He  merely  states,  in  general  terms,  that  Celtic  law 
“ never  ceased  to  exert  its  influence,  and  was  more 
or  less  incorporated  in  the  barbaric  codes.  The  laws 
of  the  Visigoths  were  completely  impregnated  with 
Roman  justice,  and  recognized  neither  distinction  of 
patrimony  nor  preference  of  sex,  (unlike  the  Gothic 
injustice  which  continued  among  the  Germans  and 
Saxons.)  “ At  length,  however,  the  [Gothic]  feudal 
overcame  the  Roman  spirit  throughout  Europe,  * * * 
and  the  indivisibility  of  military  service  led  at  once  to 
the  law  of  primogeniture,  the  exclusion  of  daughters 
from  their  rightful  inheritance,  and  the  complete  de- 
pendence of  woman  on  her  c lord  and  master.’  * * * 
But  a new  social  era  dawned  with  the  revival  of  learn- 
ing ; the  scholars  of  Christendom  gradually  acquired 
(once  more)  a knowledge  of  the  legal  literature  of 
Rome.”  The  old  Celtic  law,  still  preserved,  thank 
God,  in  the  written  Brehon  laws  of  Ireland,  was,  and 
is,  the  basis  of  democratic  liberty. 

The  English  savages  burned  ail  the  old  Irish  libra- 
ries they  could  lay  hands  on,  but  fragments  enough 
remain  to  illustrate  ancient  Celtic  history. 

The  reviewer  concludes  by  saying  that  the  revival 
of  Roman  (that  is,  Celtic)  law  has  already  exercised 
a vast  influence  on  modern  European  law  ; and  it  is 
to  be  hoped  that  even  England,  the  most  persistent 
conservator  of  the  feudal  system,  will  ere  long  be  so 
far  inspired  by  the  spirit  of  the  Roman  legislators,  as 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  197 


to  adopt  from  them  what  may  seem  suitable  to  the 
genius  and  needs  of  her  people. 

This  is  a mild,  lawyer-like  way  of  saying  that  the 
English  are  still  in  a state  of  barbarism.  He  says  in 
a note,  that  we  must  remember  that  it  is  in  spite  of 
English  laws,  that  English  women  are  well  treated, 
and  he  hopes  for  the  redress  of  those  legal  wrongs 
against  person  and  property  “ to  which  English  women 
are  constantly  exposed,  and  from  which  they  still  fre- 
quently suffer.” 

Berta  and  the  mother  of  Alfred  the  Great  were 
Celtic  women.  Several  of  the  Saxon  queens  were 
saintly.  But  in  Saxon  history  we  have  no  female 
heroines,  none  of  those  beautiful  romantic  angels, 
whether  real  or  ideal,  who  abounded  in  Celtic  regions. 

The  queens  of  England,  in  general,  during  the 
Saxon  period,  were  only  remarkable  for  cold-blooded 
murders  of  their  relatives,  and  for  incestuous  and 
adulterous  crimes. 

I cannot  in  this  limited  work  give  even  a list  of 
illustrious  queens  — heroines  and  lady  saints  of  Eu- 
rope. Regarding  England,  I may  merely  remark,  that, 
as  in  the  case  of  Napoleon,  the  greatest  of  the  sons 
of  men,  the  English  nation  and  Parliament  violated 
the  sound  rights  of  hospitality  in  the  person  of  Mary, 
Queen  of  Scots.  They  murdered  that  beautiful,  in- 
teresting, helpless  lady ; while,  at  the  same  time,  the 
great  Anglo-Saxon  nation  crawled  on  their  bellies  to 
the  Virgin  Bess,  the  red-haired  hyena.  Elizabeth  had 
Celtic  blood  in  her  veins  (like  Cromwell,  who  was  also 

17* 


198  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

of  Welsh  descent ;)  from  this  she  acquired  her  force 
of  character;  the  English  felt  it,  and  adored.  But 
God  help  English  women  of  amiable  and  gentle  dis- 
position. 

I myself  heard  the  common  cry  of  the  Saxonized 
Orangemen,  “ To  h — with  Victoria !”  when  they 
thought  she  was  inclined  to  goodness  and  justice  to 
all  her  subjects  alike.  But  as  a tool  in  the  hands  of 
the  Orange  aristocrats,  she  afterwards  turned  out  a 
mere  nonentity  ; they  began  to  cheer  her,  and  boast  of 
woman’s  dignity  upon  the  British  throne. 

Some  English  writers  pretend  that  the  English  hon- 
ored the  virginity  of  Elizabeth,  and  punished  the  guilt 
of  Mary,  I cannot  here  discuss  the  respective  char- 
acters of  these  women  ; I am  engaged  in  showing  the 
English  estimation  of  woman’s  dignity  and  purity.  ' 
It  is  a fact,  recorded  in  the  English  archives,  that  the 
English,  in  Parliament  assembled,  passed  an  act  to 
legalize  Elizabeth’s  offspring,  legitimate  or  illegitimate. 
Perhaps  the  virgin  felt  certain  misgivings  at  the  time. 
At  all  events,  the  English  promised  that  if  their  queen 
should  have  a bastard,  as  she  herself  was  one,  they 
would  put  it  on  the  throne  and  worship  it. 

It  was  a worthy  compliment  paid  to  the  Protestant 
she-pope  by  the  slaves  who  roared  for  the  Bible,  while 
they  smashed  the  image  of  the  Infant  Saviour  and  his 
Virgin  Mother.  The  crawling  indecency  and  public 
corruption  of  these  acts  have  never  been  equalled  by 
any  other  savage  race  or  civilized  nation  in  Europe. 

Cobbett,  after  detailing  the  bloody  treachery  and 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  199 


meanness  that  pervaded  England  during  the  time  that 
Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  Lady  Jane  Grey,  Mary,  and 
Elizabeth  occupied  the  English  stage,  says  that  u no 
reign,  no  age,  no  country  ever  witnessed  rapacity, 
hypocrisy,  meanness,  baseness,  perfidy  r such  as  Eng- 
land witnessed  ” in  those  days. 

The  murders  of  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  of  Lady 
Jane  Grey,  of  the  old  Countess  of  Salisbury,  and 
many  other  ladies  executed  throughout  England,  in  a 
most  brutal  and  indecent  manner,  cover  the  name  of 
Englishman  with  infamy. 

Whipping  naked  women,  and  branding,  them  with 
red  hot  irons,  even  for  the  crime  of  begging,  were  quite 
common,  especially  during  the  reign  of  the  queens. 
It  cannot  be  said  that  the  bestial  tortures  were  in- 
flicted by  individual  tyranny  or  by  religious  fanati- 
cism. It  was  all  the  same,  whether  the  Bloody  Mary 
or  the  Bloody  Bess  ruled  the  roast  of  Christians. 
The  English  people  found  it  easy  to  obey  any  tyrant, 
and  to  turn  from  Catholic  to  Protestant,  and  Protes- 
tant to  Catholic,  and  back  again,  with  equal  facility. 
They  were,  as  they  are  to-day,  a nation  of  flunkies, 
lord-worshippers,  and  woman-beaters. 

The  utter  debasement  of  the  English  under  Henry 
VIII.  is  fearfully  illustrated  in  the  murder  of  the 
Countess  of  Salisbury. 

The  lords  and  gentlemen  of  England,  in  Parliament 
assembled,  passed  a bill  of  high  treason  against  this 
helpless  old  lady,  because  her  son  was  rebellious,  and 
beyond  the  king’s  power.  Here  is  a spectacle ; the 


200  CONDITION  OP  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

foremost  men  in  England,  like  the  vilest  flunkies, 
eating  dirt  and  wallowing  in  bloodshed  to  please  their 
master!  The  countess  was  dragged  forcibly  to  the 
scaffold.  “ She  who  was  upwards  of  seventy  years 
of  age,  though. worn  down  in  body  by  her  imprison- 
ment, maintained  to  the  last  a true  sense  of  her  char- 
acter and  noble  descent.  When  bidden  to  lay  her 
head  upon  the  block,  ‘ No,’  answered  she,  ‘ my  head 
shall  never  bow  to  tyranny ; it  never  committed  trea- 
son ; and  if  you  will  have  it,  you  must  get  it  as  you 
can.’  The  executioner  struck  at  her  neck  with  his 
axe,  and  as  she  ran  about  the  scaffold,  with  her  gray 
locks  hanging  down  her  shoulders,  he  pursued,  giving 
her  repeated  chops,  till  at  last  he  brought  her  down/’ 
( Cobbett.) 

This  was  done  in  the  presence  of  assembled  Eng- 
lishmen, and  no  man  raised  hand  or  voice  to  redeem 
that  brutal  slaughter  of  an  aged  lady  who  ivas  known 
to  be  innocent . 

The  reader  knows  the  history  of  the  profligate  and 
unfortunate  Anne  Boleyn,  and  the  noble  Queen  Cath- 
arine, so  disgracefully  deserted  to  her  fate  by  the  English 
nation ; but  in  order  to  exhibit  the  baseness  of  which 
this  race  is  capable,  I need  only  quote  from  an  Eng- 
lish Protestant  writer  in  the  Critic,  Nov.  1,  1856,  who 
is  commenting  upon  the  trial  of  Anne  for  high  treason. 

“ Four  noble  gentlemen,  one  of  whom  was  her  own 
brother,  were  charged  severally  with  distinct  acts  of 
adultery  with  her ; against  all,  the  grand  juries  of 
Middlesex  and  Surrey  found  true  bills ; and  on  these 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  201 

bills,  all  were  indicted  and  found  guilty  by  petty  juries. 
One  had  previously  confessed  or  stated  his  guilt.  All 
were  executed.  The  queen  herself  was  arraigned  be- 
fore the  first  peers  of  the  realm.  By  them  she  also 
was  tried,  found  guilty,  and  sentenced  to  decapitation. 

“ In  this  terrible  tragedy,  Mr.  Froude  entertains  a 
strong  opinion  that  the  facts  were  proved ; but  unfor- 
tunately no  record  of  the  evidence  remains,  and  again 
we  are  left  in  the  doubt  which  hangs  over  so  many  of 
the  prominent  events  of  the  age.  It  seems  inconceiv- 
able that  sixty  Englishmen,  many  of  them  men  of 
distinction,  should  have  been  brought  to  convict  four 
illustrious  and  innocent  men  of  unproved  crimes.  It 
is  remarkable  that  Cranmer,  who  at  first  was  strongly 
convinced  of  the  queen’s  innocence,  was  afterwards  as 
strongly  convinced  of  her  guilt.  It  is  also  inconceiv- 
able that  the ‘powerful  majority  of  English  peers  could 
have  been  so  far  lost  to  every  sentiment  of  manly 
justice,  as  to  convict  a royal  lady  merely  to  please  a 
royal  master.  On  the  other  hand,  there  is  extant  a 
touching  letter  from  the  queen  to  the  king,  in  which 
she  asseverates  her  total  innocence,  with  all  the  ap- 
parent signs  and  circumstances  of  truth.  It  must  also 
be  remembered  that,  inconceivable  as  it  may  be  to 
Englishmen  of  our  day,  that  sixty  Englishmen  of  that 
day  could  deliberately,  under  the  influence  of  despot- 
ism, sanction  and  recommend  a series  of  foul  murders, 
yet 4 English  juries  ivere  not  then  what  they  are  now] 
he  says ; and  if  Mr.  Froude  be  acquainted,  as  doubt- 
less he  is,  with  the  state  trials,  and  especially  with 


202  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

such  trials  as  that  of  Raleigh,  he  must  be  fully  aware 
that  trial  by  jury  in  the  sixteenth  century,  when  the 
crown  was  concerned,  was  a mere  mockery  of  justice 
and  customary  engine  of  tyranny.” 

The  English  system  is  a curious  complication  of 
reactive  tyranny  and  flunkyism.  Is  the  Saxon  boor 
a freeman  or  a slavish  hypocrite,  when  he  touches  his 
hat  at  every  sentence  he  says  to  a lord  or  lady  ? Is 
the  English  lord  a true  nobleman,  or  is  he  a hypocrite, 
when  he  bows,  and  kneels,  and  kisses  hands,  and  per- 
forms the  crab-walk  before  royalty  ? On  the  other 
hand,  is  Victoria  in  reality  a sovereign  ? She  who 
was  compelled  to  marry  within  an  incestuous  circle, 
in  order  that  the  breed  of  sacred  geese  might  be  pre- 
served in  the  temple  of  English  flunky dom  ! 

This  word  flunkyism , used  by  Carlyle,  is  very  appli- 
cable to  himself  and  the  British  writers  of  our  day, 
who,  in  order  to  flatter  the  German  prince  of  Saxe- 
Gotha,  have  elevated  the  Anglo-Saxon  to  that  dignity 
which,  until  lately,  was  due  only  to  the  word  Briton . 
It  is  said  in  the  East,  of  any  one  who  defames  his 
ancestry,  that  he  heaps  asses’  dung  upon  his  mother’s 
grave. 

British  baseness  appears  inexplicable,  until  we  re- 
member that  the  English  race  are  made  up  of  the 
slaves  left  by  the  Romans,  and  by  the  savages  who 
afterwards  mixed  in. 

As  the  Anglo-Saxons  were  always  slaves  and  sav- 
ages, they  are  not  surprised  at  the  inhumanity  of  laws 
which  trample  on  the  natural  affections.  Their  legis- 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  203 

lators  may  and  do  tear  the  fondest  ties  of  our  nature 
with  impunity. 

Lord  Shaftesbury  brought  in  a bill  to  give  power  to 
Exeter  Hall  to  take  poor  children  from  their  parents, 
nolens  volens , and  to  rear  them  in  the  principles  of  the 
law  church,  the  chief  commandment  of  which  is, 
Honor  the  queen  more  than  thy  father  and  mother . 
An  example  of  this  spirit  of  English  law  has  just 
reached  us,  while  I am  at  work  on  this  book.  A child 
has  been  torn  from  her  widowed  mother,  who  is  a 
Catholic,  because  the  father  is  said  to  have  been  a 
Protestant.  The  law  of  nature  may  be  strong,  but 
the  law  of  Victoria  is  stronger.  While  “ Her  Sacred 
Majesty  ” is  lauded  for  domestic  virtues,  and  attach- 
ment to  her  progeny,  her  sceptre  strikes  down  the  arm 
of  the  helpless  widow  who  clings  to  her  orphan  child. 

After  the  reformation,  the  holy  institution  of  the 
family,  in  England  and  Ireland,  was  trampled  under 
foot,  and  the  dominion  of  hell  instituted  on  the  do- 
mestic hearth.  Marriages  between  those  of  different 
private  opinions  were  annulled,  and  the  children  bas- 
tardized. Every  priest  who  performed  the  ceremony 
of  marriage  was  condemned  to  be  hanged.  There 
was  no  intercourse  between  Catholic  and  Protestant 
lawful  but  prostitution.  Adultery  was  not  held  crim- 
inal, but  marriage  was  punished  with  death.  Even  at 
this  day,  the  law  of  England,  church  and  state,  does 
not  punish  adultery  as  a sin,  but  only  as  a damage 
to  a man’s  property,  to  be  atoned  for  by  a sum  of 
money,  and  without  money  there  is  no  absolution. 


204  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

The  family  institution  was  outraged  by  the  English 
in  other  respects.  A Catholic  father  could  not  be 
guardian  to,  or  have  the  custody  of  his  own  child,  if 
the  child,  however  young,  pretended  to  be  a Protes- 
tant. In  such  case,  the  child  was  taken  from  its  own 
father.  O ye  Englishmen,  talk  of  your  humbug  Mag- 
na Charta  after  that ! 

The  English  law  also  encouraged  wives  and  chib 
dren  to  rebel  against  their  husbands  and  fathers.  An 
English  Catholic  could  be  robbed  of  his  property  by 
his  own  wife  or  child,  who  were  only  required  to  pre- 
tend Protestantism.  Thus  hypocrisy,  perfidy,  and 
family  ingratitude  were  the  virtues  encouraged  by 
English  law.  The  history  of  the  world  can  present 
nothing  so  base  as  this  out  of  England.  The  Eng- 
lish nation  sank  to  the  lowest  depth  of  human  turpi- 
tude in  their  penal  codes  against  conscience.  Yet  our 
ears  are  continually  stunned  with  the  loud  praises  of 
the  Anglo-Saxon  race,  that  elevated  woman,  and 
emancipated  the  human  mind. 

In  Blackwood’s  Edinburgh  Magazine,  November, 
1854,  is  an  article  on  civilization  and  the  census. 
The  author,  noticing  that  part  of  the  census  which 
treats  of  the  female  element,  says,  — 

“ The  writer  of  this  portion  of  the  census,  wisely 
dissatisfied  with  the  assumed  causes  of  our  progres- 
sive population,  — namely,  the  mechanical  inventions, 
which  have  apparently  found  employment  for  the 
people,  — ascribes  it  to  the  influence  of  the  changes  in 
the  conjugal  state  of  the  people.  He  passes  in  review 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  205 

the  period  of  our  history  extending  from  1651  to  1751. 
The  population  increased  very  slowly ; and  we  find 
that  after  the  restoration  of  Charles  II.,  such  a general 
dissoluteness  of  manners  was  inaugurated  as  can  now 
be  scarcely  understood ; while  shortly  after  1751,  the 
law  of  marriage  — which,  like  the  institution  itself, 
had  grown  inconceivably  loose,  and  had  at  the  same 
time  been  greatly  abused  — was  reformed.”  Puritan- 
ism had  drawn  the  social  bow  with  too  strong  a hand ; 
the  string  had  broken,  and  it  had  hastily  flown  back  in 
the  opposite  direction.  Profligacy  was  a fashion. 
The  writer  is  here  unsparing,  yet  justifies  his  severity 
by  authorities  given  in  the  notes. 

“ The  light  poets,  the  players,  and  the  gay  men  and 
women  on  town,  led  crowds  of  votaries  into  the  ex- 
treme opposite  to  Puritanism.  Young  people  of  both 
sexes  were  brought  from  the  country  to  Whitehall, 
where,  instead  of  hard  lessons  of  elevated  thought 
and  patriotism  — such  as  Lady  Jane  Grey  and  her 
contemporaries  learned  from  Plato  — they  masked, 
they  ‘ ogled,’  sang,  and  danced,  under  the  eye  of  the 
4 Mother  of  the  Maids,’  and  the  higher  auspices  of 
the  queen,  the  queen  dowager,  and  the  Duchess  of 
York,  until,  wounded  or  terrified,  they  flew  into  con- 
cealment, or,  as  it  was  every  where  deemed,  ridic- 
ulously married,  and  ingloriously  discharged  the  duties 
of  English  wives  and  mothers.  The  sisters,  daugh- 
ters, and  wives  of  the  loyalest  subjects,  the  greatest 
generals,  the  wisest  statesmen,  and  the  gravest  judges, 
figured  in  the  Paphian  train,  glittering  and  smiling  as 

18 


206  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

the  troop  of  Boccaccio  in  the  pages  of  Grammont, 
and  on  the  walls  of  Hampton  Court ; but  with  ad- 
vancing years,  shattered,  patched,  degraded,  fading  — 
as  they  are  seen  in  the  authentic  memoirs  of  the  age, 
and  life-like  portraits  of  Hogarth.” 

As  Hogarth  was  not  born  till  1698,  the  tenth  year 
of  the  reign  of  William  and  Mary,  it  is  surely  strain- 
ing a point  for  the  picturesque  effect  of  portraiture,  to 
introduce  him  as  depicting  in  the  dramatis  persona  of 
his  scenic  works  the  profligacies  of  the  reign  of  the 
beauties  of  the  court  of  Charles  II.  In  the  frigid 
court  of  William  and  Mary,  “ vice  lost  its  graces  and 
charms ; ” but  profligacy  is  not  at  once  eradicated ; 
and  it  would  be  strange  indeed  if  there  was  not 
enough  of  it  in  practice  of  the  then  world  of  fashion, 
to  justify  the  satire  of  the  moral  painter.  The 
“ homely  but  not  shining  qualities  ” which  regulated 
the  court  of  the  “ devout,  chaste,  and  formal  ” Queen 
Anne,  so  designated  by  Lord  Chesterfield,  a writer 
very  tolerant  of  old  vices,  were  not  suffered  to  have  a 
permanent  effect  upon  the  manners  of  the  people,  by 
the  succession  of  the  two  first  Georges.  Among  all 
classes,  “ the  institution  of  marriage  was  unsettled  to 
its  foundations.” 

The  effect  of  this  state  of  things  upon  families  was 
most  pernicious.  The  due  ratio  of  increase  of  popula- 
tion was  stayed.  A gradual  improvement  in  the  mor- 
als of  the  people  commenced  after  1751.  Lord  Hard- 
wicke's  bill,  in  1753,  was  “ one  of  the  first  evident  re- 
forms in  the  law  of  marriage.”  Historians  do  not 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  207 

express  the  same  sentiments  upon  the  operation  of 
this  bill,  some  viewing  it  as  a means  to  secure  to  the 
aristocracy  fortunes  by  marriages,  others  as  giving  a 
greater  respectability  to  marriage  itself.  It  was,  at 
the  time,  considered  by  its  opponents  as  likely  to  af- 
fect the  population  of  the  country.  The  writer  in  the 
report  observes,  “ Experience  soon  showed,  that  in- 
stead of  stopping  marriage  and  the  growth  of  popu- 
lation, the  act  had  the  contrary  effect,  by  depriving 
the  marriage  ceremony  of  disgraceful  associations  — 
by  making  it  not  a mere  verbal  promise,  but  a life 
contract,  to  be  recorded,  to  be  entered  into  with  delib- 
eration, by  persons  in  the  enjoyment  of  their  faculties, 
and  to  be  kept  inviolate  till  death.’5  And  here  it  is  fair 
to  remark,  that  probably  no  small  share  of  the  disre- 
spect in  which  marriages  were  held,  and  the  conse- 
quent dissoluteness,  may  be  ascribed  to  the  Puritans, 
who,  before  Charles’s  arrival,  in  1653,  had  passed  a 
bill  for  solemnizing  marriages  by  justices  of  peace. 
The  removal  of  any  part  of  the  sanctity  of  marriage 
has  a tendency  to  bring  it  into  disrepute ; it  is  better 
that  it  should  be  held  even  as  some  would  say  with  a 
superstition,  than  merely  as  a civil  contract,  which, 
like  most  other  civil  contracts,  may  be  broken  ad  libi- 
tum by  those  who  are  willing  to  incur  the  penalties. 
Modern  legislation  has,  however,  in  this  respect, 
brought  the  ceremony  of  marriage  down  still  lower 
than  the  act  of  the  Puritans,  by  reducing  even  the 
official  dignity  of  performance,  and  authorizing  mar- 
riages at  the  public  register  offices.  Where  there  is 


208  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

little  distinct  religious  feeling  or  principle,  there  is  a 
superstition  akin  to  it ; and  there  are  few  who  do  not 
receive,  or  remember  with  a sense  of  awe,  the  solemn 
words,  “ Whom  God  hath  joined  together,  let  no  man 
put  asunder  ; ” and  the  evil  suggestion,  in  the  contrary- 
case,  is  ready  enough  — whom  man  joins,  man  may 
put  asunder,  and  if  man  only,  it  little  matters  what 
man.  Parties  may  assume  that  privilege  to  them- 
selves. It  is  hard  to  see  how  the  church  of  England 
can,  at  any  after  time,  by  their  other  official  acts, 
recognize  such  marriages.  What  is  to  be  said  of  the 
monition  or  warning,  that  “ so  many  as  are  coupled 
together  otherwise  than  God’s  word  doth  allow,  are 
not  joined  together  by  God,  neither  is  their  matrimony 
lawful  ? ” 

Farther  on,  the  writer  says,  u I believe  Eusebius,*  I 
speak  of  a notorious  fact,  that  it  is  short  of  a century 
since,  for  election  purposes,  parties  were  unblushingly 
married  in  cases  where  women  conveyed  a right  of 
freedom,  a political  franchise,  to  their  husbands,  and 
parted  by  shaking  hands  over  a tombstone,  as  an  act 
of  dissolution  of  the  marriage,  under  cover  of  the 
words  4 till  death  us  do  part.’  ” 

Need  we  be  surprised  that  Mormonism,  Freeloveism, 
temporary  marriage,  spread  rapidly  among  the  Eng- 
lish? * 'W : ^ 

* The  imaginary  friend  whom  the  writer  addresses. 


THE  CELTIC ^ GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  209 


CHAPTER  XI. 


ENGLISH  EVIDENCE  ON  THE  TURPITUDE  OF  THE 

ENGLISH  RACE. 


In  the  heat  of  controversy  and  recrimination  be- 
tween Catholics  and  Protestants  in  England,  we  are 
apt  to  forget  they  were  all  English.  We  may  shud- 
der at  the  treatment  of  English  women,  even  under 
the  reign  of  English  queens,  and  we  may  discuss 
whether  it  was  more  English  to  be  disembowelled 
alive  under  Elizabeth,  or  roasted  alive  under  Mary ; 
but  the  pious  Englishmen  who  industriously  circulate 
Fox’s  Book  of  Martyrs  should  remember  that  all  the 
executions  of  men,  and  indecent  torturings  of  women, 
were  inflicted  by  the  English  upon  the  English,  in  the 
face  of  the  whole  nation  — that  slavish,  hypocritical 
nation  that  changed  the  national  religion  three  times 
in  one  generation,  at  the  nod  of  tyrants. 

The  keepers  of  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  refused  to 
murder  her  privately,  without  trial,  though  encouraged 
to  do  so  by  Queen  Bess  and  the  lords.  This  is  quoted 
as  an  act  of  Roman  virtue  ; and  indeed,  considering 
what  Englishmen  were,  this  may  be  regarded  as  a 
chivalrous  act. 

Not  to  commit  a base  deed  deserves  a golden  statue. 


18* 


210  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

But  after  all,  English  chivalry  looked  on  at  the  mur- 
derous breach  of  hospitality. 

The  history  of  Saxon  morality  and  mentality,  as 
related  by  Saxe- Gotha  writers,  is  a singular  kaleido- 
scope of  human  nature.  Shifting  issues  and  special 
pleading  constantly  change  with  the  prejudices  of 
those  men,  who,  each  in  his  own  way,  imagines  ne  is 
exalting  the  character  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race.  Now, 
all  is  black  and  beastly  ; anon,  the  same  nation  is  all 
bright  and  angelic.  Beginning  with  such  awe-inspir- 
ing men  as  Carlyle  and  Macaulay,  we  can  have  Eng- 
land done  up  in  any  colors,  according  to  fancy,  or  to 
meet  the  social  and  political  difficulties  of  a day. 
Whether  the  difficulty  be  Irish  treason  or  Papal  ag- 
gression, it  can  be  shown  that  the  Anglo-Saxon  is 
God’s  highest  and  best  creature,  and  that  Providence 
intended  to  starve  out  Celts  to  make  room  for  him. 
In  comparison  with  Popish  countries,  England  is 
sanctified  and  favored  of  Heaven,  and  the  Saxon  race 
always  most  moral  and  evangelical.  But  in  order  to 
avoid  Popery  now,  it  can  be  easily  proved  that  the 
Saxons  were  not  always  holy ; for  in  Papist  times,  and 
before  the  reformation,  the  Anglo-Saxons  and  Ger- 
mans were  most  brutal.  Thus  it  is  with  these  Saxe- 
Gotha  writers : they  are  continually  making  angels  or 
devils  of  themselves  and  their  race,  according  as  Prot- 
estantism or  Catholicity  turns  up.  Such  works  as 
Fox’s  Book  of  Martyrs  exhibit  this  propensity  in  an 
eminent  degree. 

If  I desired  to  give  an  invidious  account  of  the 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  211 

Saxe-Gotha  races  of  England  and  Germany,  I need 
only  quote  the  humiliating  and  disgusting  condition 
of  the  English  and  the  Germans  before  the  reforma- 
tion, as  related  by  their  own  Saxe-Gotha  historians. 
It  is  certain  that  most  of  these  historians  are  false,  and 
so  blind  with  bigotry  that  they  perceive  not  the  dis- 
grace they  accumulate  upon  their  own  blood.  Nor  do 
they  observe  the  inconsistency  of  lauding  a nation 
turning  Protestant,  who  are  represented  as  being  at  the 
same  time  in  a most  brutish  and  ignorant  state. 

It  is  true  that  before  the  reformation,  many  abuses, 
and  much  ignorance  and  immorality,  existed  in  Chris- 
tendom. It  is  equally  undeniable  that  society  was 
corrupted  and  civilization  thrown  back  by  the  Danes 
in  the  west,  and  other  Gothic  savages  in  the  north, 
who  were  yet  scarcely  reclaimed  from  their  piratical 
habits  and  heathenish  propensities.  It  is  also  a fact 
that  the  advocates  of  the  Lutheran  revolution  and 
sanguinary  tumults  find  their  illustrations  of  ecclesi- 
astical abuses  and  social  corruption  almost  exclu- 
sively in  England,  and  Germany,  and  Sweden,  and 
the  nations  that  revolted  from  the  church. 

Let  us  take  a few  examples. 

I must  avoid,  as  far  as  possible,  the  disgusting  de- 
tails, whether  true  or  false,  that  form  the  staple  of 
Protestant  books  and  tracts. 

The  author  of  Luther  by  a Lutheran  says,  “ Look  at 
the  hundred  grievances  presented  to  the  pope’s  nun- 
cio at  the  diet  of  Nuremburg ; and  look,  too,  at  the 
speech  of  Duke  George  at  Worms,  where  he  admits 
the  corruntions  of  the  priests,”  &c. 


212  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

“ The  rural  districts  were  the  scenes  of  numerous 
excesses.  The  abodes  of  the  clergy  were  frequently 
the  resorts  of  the  dissolute,”  &c. 

“ The  council  of  Schaffhausen  prohibited  the  clergy 
from  dancing  in  public,”  &c. 

“ In  several  places  the  priest  paid  to  the  bishop  a 
regular  tax  for  the  woman  with  whom  he  lived,  and 
for  every  child  he  had  by  her ! A German  bishop,  who 
was  present  at  a grand  entertainment,  publicly  de- 
clared that  in  one  year  eleven  thousand  priests  had 
presented  themselves  to  him  for  that  purpose.  It  is 
Erasmus  who  records  this.” 

Mylonius,  who  was  superintendent  of  Gotha  from 
1524  to  1541,  gives  an  account  of  that  place,  with  its 
unnatural  crimes,  too  dreadful  and  indecent  to  be 
quoted,  although  English  ladies  and  youth  have  been 
taught  all  about  it.  Tischer,  a German  contemporary 
of  Luther,  is  another  authority  of  the  same  class. 

John  Schiphorver,  a German,  thus  praises  the 
monks  of  his  race : “ They  are  hardly  able  to  sing  the 
requiem , and  yet,  like  horned  cattle,  they  raise  them- 
selves up,  and  undertake  to  oppose  learned  men. 

* * They  much  better  understand  how  to  draw 

liquor  from  goblets  than  information  from  books. 
With  drinking  and  carousing  they  sit  in  taverns,  car- 
ry on  gaming  and  illicit  amours,  and  daily  getting 
drunk ; and  these  are  priests  — they  are  indeed  so 
called  ; but  they  are  asses.” 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Schmucker  quotes  Giesler,  a German, 
who  says  that  the  German  priests  became  so  corrupt 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  213 


that  it  was  necessary  to  forbid  them  having  any  fe- 
males near  the  house  but  their  own  relatives.  “ But, 
horrible  to  relate,  from  a decree  of  the  council  of  Mo- 
guntiae,  A.  D.  888,  we  learn  that  some  of  them  had 
children  by  their  own  sisters.” 

The  reader  must  excuse  these  elegant  extracts. 
Were  I before  an  audience  of  English  ladies  in  Exeter 
Hall,  I might  be  at  liberty  to  give  a profusion  of  quo- 
tations far  worse,  in  order  to  illustrate  the  historic  fact 
that  the  Goths  of  the  continent,  like  their  Anglo-Sax- 
on brothers,  have  never  been  altogether  Christianized, 
— not  so  much  as  the  red  men  of  America.  This  is 
true,  or  the  Saxe- Gotha  writers  are  all  liars. 

A writer  in  the  North  British  Review,  May,  1856, 
makes  a very  labored  and  lame  attempt  to  prove  that 
the  Puritans  were  really  pure,  and  no  hypocrites ; 
not  narrow-minded,  savage-hearted  haters  of  art  and 
poesy,  but  were,  in  fact,  lovers  of  poetry.  How  ? 
“ There  was  poetry  enough  in  them,  to  be  sure,”  he 
says,  “ though  they  acted  it  like  men,  instead  of  sing- 
ing it  like  birds.”  Yes,  indeed,  they  acted  tragic  po- 
etry in  the  wholesale  murders,  in  the  burning  and 
whipping  and  mutilations  of  women  and  children. 
In  the  disembowelling  of  mothers,  and  the  elevation 
of  babes  on  spear-tops,  truly  the  Puritans  acted  poe- 
try, not  like  birds,  but  like  beasts. 

This  same  reviewer,  following  in  the  path  opened 
up  by  Macaulay,  exposes  the  matchless  depravity  of 
England  after  the  reformation.  He  judges  the  state 
of  the  Anglo-Saxon  by  the  tone  and  elevation  of  the 


214  CONDITION  OP  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

popular  songs,  novels,  and  plays.  These  are  almost 
invariably  sensual.  lie  says,  “ Now,  we  cannot  but 
agree  with  the  Puritans,  that  adultery  is  not  a subject 
for  comedy  at  all.  It  may  be  for  tragedy,  but  for 
comedy  never.  It  is  a sin  ; not  merely  theological- 
ly, but  socially,  one  of  the  very  worst  sins  — the  pa- 
rent of  seven  other  sins — of  falsehood,  suspicion, 
hate,  murder,  and  a whole  bevy  of  devils.  The 
prevalence  of  adultery  in  any  country  has  always 
been  a sign  and  a cause  of  social  insincerity,  division, 
and  revolution  ; and  where  a people  has  learned  to  con- 
nive and  laugh  at  it,  and  to  treat  it  as  a light  thing, 
that  people  has  been  always  careless,  base,  selfish, 
cowardly,  ripe  for  slavery.  And  we  must  say,  that 
either  the  courtiers  and  Londoners  of  James  and 
Charles  I.  were  in  that  state,  or  that  the  poets  were 
doing  their  best  to  make  them  so. 

“ We  shall  not  shock  our  readers  by  any  disgusting 
details  on  this  point;  we  shall  only  say  that  there  is 
hardly  a comedy  of  the  seventeenth  century,  with  the 
exception  of  Shakspeare’s,  in  which  adultery  is  not 
introduced  as  a subject  of  laughter,  and  often  made 
the  staple  of  the  whole  plot.  The  seducer  is,  if  not 
openly  applauded,  at  least  let  to  pass  as  a 4 handsome 
gentleman;’  the  injured  husband  is,  as  in  that  Italian 
literature  of  which  we  shall  speak  shortly,  the  object 
of  every  kind  of  scorn  and  ridicule.  In  this  latter 
habit  (common  to  most  European  nations)  there  is  a 
sort  of  justice.  A man  can  generally  retain  his  wife’s 
affections  if  he  will  behave  himself  like  a man  ; and 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  215 

injured  husbands  have  for  the  most  part  no  one  to 
blame  but  themselves.  But  the  matter  is  not  a sub- 
ject for  comedy ; not  even  in  that  case  which  has  been 
always  too  common  in  France,  Italy,  and  the  Romish 
countries,  and  which  seems  to  have  been  painfully 
common  in  England  in  the  seventeenth  century,  when 
by  a 6 manage  de  convenances  a young  girl  is  married 
up  to  a rich  idiot  or  a decrepit  old  man.  Such  things 
are  not  comedies,  but  tragedies  — subjects  for  pity 
and  for  silence,  not  for  brutal  ribaldry. 

“ The  tragedies  of  the  seventeenth  century  are,  on 
the  whole,  as  questionable  as  the  comedies.  That 
there  are  noble  plays  among  them  here  and  there,  no 
one  denies  — no  more  than  that  there  are  exquisitely 
amusing  plays  among  the  comedies  ; but  as  the  sta- 
ple interest  of  the  comedies  is  dulness,  so  the  staple 
interest  of  the  tragedies  is  crime.  Revenge,  hatred, 
villany,  incest,  and  murder  upon  murder,  are  the  con- 
stant themes,  and,  with  the  exception  of  Shakspeare, 
Ben  Jonson  in  his  earlier  plays,  and  perhaps  Massin- 
ger, they  handle  these  horrors  with  little  or  no  moral 
purpose,  save  that  of  exciting  and  amusing  the  audi- 
ence, and  of  displaying  their  own  power  of  delinea- 
tion, in  a way  which  makes  one  but  too  ready  to  be- 
lieve the  accusations  of  the  Puritans,  supported  as 
they  are  by  many  painful  anecdotes,  that  the  play- 
writers  and  actors  were  mostly  men  of  fierce  and 
reckless  lives,  who  had  but  too  practical  an  acquaint- 
ance with  the  dark  passions  which  they  sketch.” 

This  Puritan  writer  would  have  us  believe  that  the 


216  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

immorality  of  the  English  stage,  and  of  English  so- 
ciety at  large,  came  from  Italy,  from  the  circumstance 
that  the  drama  originated  in  that  Romish  country. 
But  he  slurs  over  without  comment  the  fact,  glorious 
for  Italy,  that  the  drama  had  its  birth  in  the  sacred 
temple  of  religion  in  that  fair  land  of  art.  Plays 
were  at  first  introduced  by  the  church  as  tableau  vi - 
vants  of  sacred  history,  in  order  to  instruct  the  igno- 
rant masses  by  the  most  lively  and  effectual  method. 

If  this  sacred  drama  became  converted  into  a fount 
of  corruption,  we  must  remember  that  Italian  litera- 
ture was  not  all  corruption.  And  we  must  remember 
that  the  abominations  of  the  Cities  of  the  Plain  were 
national  in  England  long  before  the  Italian  plays  were 
invented.  The  English  left  what  was  beautiful  and 
good,  and  sucked  in  only  the  corruption,  because  base- 
ness hath  an  affinity  for  baseness. 

England  was  just  the  land  to  imbibe  and  become 
saturated  with  corruption  wherever  found.  There 
were  fountains  of  pure  poesy  in  Italy,  but  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  writers  preferred  to  draw  from  the  foul  waters, 
knowing  the  taste  of  their  Anglo-Saxon  patrons  and 
audiences. 

Shakspeare  was  partly  an  exception,  as  the  review- 
er remarks  : he  had  a truly  divine  instinct  for  finding 
honey  where  others  found  poison. 

Yet  Shakspeare’s  English  characters  are  full  of 
baseness,  treachery,  and  brutality,  and  his  plays  in  the 
original  form,  as  acted  before  Queen  Elizabeth  and 
the  public,  are  full  of  obscenities. 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  217 


I 


It  cannot  be  denied  that  since  the  period  of  Gothic 
infusion  into  Italy,  first  through  mercenaries,  and  then 
by  Austrian  conquest,  the  Italians  have  displayed 
great  vices,  as  well  as  great  virtues.  But  the  Celtic 
nations  have  drank  of  the  pure  fountain,  while  the 
English  and  the  German  have  instinctively,  and  by 
preference,  imbibed  the  fetid  streams  of  filthiness. 
Here  is  a fact  that  all  the  sophistry  of  English  writers 
cannot  overthrow.  While  the  Irish  and  other  Celts 
reject  what  is  poisonous,  the  great  Saxon  stomach 
greedily  digests  every  dirty  garbage  thrown  out  by 
other  nations. 

I believe  it  was  Dean  Swift  who  complained  that 
the  English  picked  up  every  foul  weed  thrown  over 
the  wall  out  of  St.  Peter’s  garden,  referring  to  the 
fond  reception  given  to  every  bad  and  disgraced  priest 
expelled  from  the  Catholic  church. 

In  our  own  day,  as  every  one  knows,  the  most  filthy 
and  ferocious  ruffians  that  Italy  or  Ireland  can  pro- 
duce, are  received  with  open  arms  by  the  English  and 
Anglo-Americans.  Crowds  of  mothers  and  daughters 
flock  to  drink  in,  with  greedy  ear,  all  the  obscene  sto- 
ries that  the  disgraced  priest  has  to  relate. 

Regarding  the  Italian  drama,  the  writer  says,  “ We 
have  yet  to  learn  how  much  our  stage  owed,  from  its 
first  rise  under  Elizabeth,  to  direct  importations,  from 
Italy.”  Now,  it  is  evident  that  the  English  drama  of 
bestiality  owed  little  or  nothing  to  the  Italian. 
Where  English  writers  take  their  plots  from  the  Ital- 
ian, it  is  from  Italian  novels  and  romances  not  from 

19 


218  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

public  plays.  The  aristocratic  nobles,  lay  and  clerical, 
of  Italy,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  were  very  corrupt, 
and  they  bought  up  these  novels;  but  there  is  not  a* 
particle  of  evidence  to  be  brought  forward  that  the 
unreading  masses  of  the  people  were  in  the  same  con- 
dition. 

England  was,  and  is,  rotten  from  head  to  foot,  from 
skin  to  core.  Not  so  the  peasantry  of  Ireland,  Italy, 
and  other  Celtic  countries.  The  disgusting  creation 
of  the  public  drama  in  England  was  indigenous,  and 
is  very  properly  ascribed  by  Macaulay  to  the  depravity 
of  the  public  taste  — let  the  Saxon  Puritan  say  what 
he  will.  All  the  Christianity  that  England  ever  had 
was  imparted,  first  and  last,  by  Italy  and  by  Ireland. 

Ben  Jonson,  although  a loose  writer  himself,  could 
not  suppress  this  outburst  regarding  the  English  stage. 
He  says,  “ The  increase  of  which  lust  is  liberty,  to- 
gether with  the  present  trade  of  the  stage,  in  all  their 
masculine  interludes,  what  liberal  soul  doth  not  ab- 
hor ? where  nothing  but  filth  of  the  mire  is  uttered, 
and  that  with  such  impropriety  of  phrase,  such  plenty 
of  solecisms,  such  dearth  of  sense,  so  bold  prolepses, 
such  racked  metaphors,  with  indecency  able  to  vio- 
late the  ear  of  a pagan,  and  blasphemy  to  turn  the 
blood  of  a Christian  to  water.5’ 

Considering  the  bias  of  this  reviewer,  I am  aston- 
ished to  find  that  he  gives  due  credit  to  an  Irishman 
for  being  the  first  who  purified  the  English  stage.  He 
says,  “ We  will  go  no  farther  into  the  sickening  de- 
tails of  the  licentiousness  of  the  old  play-houses. 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  219 


Gosson  and  his  colleague,  ‘ the  anonymous  penitent,’ 
assert  them,  as  does  Prynne,  (who  says  ‘ their  atmos- 
phere was  that  of  Gehenna,’)  to  have  been  not  only 
schools,  but  ante-chambers  to  houses  of  a worse  kind, 
and  that  the  lessons  learned  in  the  pit  were  only  not 
practised  also  in  the  pit.”  What  reason  have  we  to 
doubt  it,  who  know  that  till  Mr.  Macready  commenced 
a practical  reformation  of  this  abuse,  for  which  his 
name  will  be  ever  respected,  our  own  comparatively 
purified  stage  was  just  the  same  ? 

So,  then  the  Italians  have  not  always  been  the  cor- 
rupters. English  men  and  maids  are  now  just  the 
same  as  they  were  five  hundred  years  ago,  and  they 
were  then  just  the  same,  almost,  as  they  were  in  pa- 
ganism. Semper  idem  — always  the  same. 

An  old  English  author  called  Stubbes  wrote  a work, 
in  1583,  on  “ The  Anatomy  of  Abuses.”  He  draws  a 
shocking  picture  of  the  English  women  of  his  day, 
with  their  “ absurdities  and  endless  ornaments  of  dress, 
coloring  the  face,  ruffs,  lace  spangles,  clock  stockings, 
feathers,  &c.,  incontinence,  gluttony,  and  drunken- 
ness.” Speaking  of  the  amusements  in  which  they 
delighted,  such  as  stage  plays,  u The  arguments  of 
tragedies  are  anger,  wrath,  immunity,  cruelty,  injury, 
incest,  murder;  the  actors,  gods,  goddesses,  furies, 
fiends,  nayges,  kyngs,  queens,  and  potentates.  Come- 
dies are  of  love,  bawdrie,  cozenage,  flatterie,  adulterie, 
and  the  persons,  queans,  bawdes,  scullions,  knaves, 
courtezans,  letcherous  old  men,  amorous  young 
men,  &c.” 


220  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

From  the  time  when  the  court  of  Charles  II.  was 
a public  brothel,  nudity  balls  became  fashionable 
throughout  England. 

Hogarth’s  obscene  engravings  were  bought  up  with 
great  avidity.  (For  an  account  of  the  shocking  state 
of  English  women  during  this  period,  see  Macaulay, 
and  recent  authors.) 

The  Catholic  church,  with  all  its  temporal  and  su- 
pernatural powers,  could  scarcely  keep  the  Saxon  na- 
ture within  bounds,  because  their  nature  was  brutish. 
It  required  such  a saint  as  Henry  VIII.  to  free  the 
Saxon  from  the  pope,  and  let  u the  swinish  multi- 
tude have  it  their  own  way,  without  note  or  com- 
ment.” 

Wade  (History  of  Working  Classes)  informs  us  that 
seventy-two  thousand  rogues,  and  thieves,  and  mur- 
derers were  put  to  death  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII. 
u The  cause  of  these  outrages  may  be  traced  to  [the 
destruction  of  monasteries,  &c.]  the  abolition  of  vil- 
lenage”  — the  Saxon  set  free  showing  his  whole 
character. 

Human  nature  is  always  the  same.  Speaking  as  a 
physiologist,  I should  say  that  the  reformation  was  the 
rebellion  of  the  great  Anglo-Saxon  stomach,  and  the 
bursting  of  the  Gothic  propensities  from  spiritual  con- 
trol. Luther  had  mental  powers  far  above  the  average  of 
his  race,  but  his  physiological  development  was  Goth- 
ic— large  occiput  and  bull  neck,  small,  sensual  eyes, 
and  large  jaws.  He  had  the  gross  physique  of  his 
brother  Goth,  the  Anglo-Saxon  Cranmer,  who  broke 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  221 

his  vows  of  chastity  and  temperance.  Luther  violated 
his  oath,  and  profaned  the  nun  Catherine  de  Bore. 
This  glutton  and  toady,  this  furious  beast,  who 
“ tore  away  the  sacred  veil  of  virgins  consecrated  to 
God,”  who  persecuted  those  faithful  to  their  vows  of 
chastity,  who  allowed  the  landgrave  of  Hesse-Cassel 
to  have  two  wives,  — this  Luther  was  the  worthy 
champion  of  that  Saxon  race  that  has  always  degrad- 
ed and  enslaved  woman. 

That  reformation  was  truly  Gothic  which  evinced 
itself  in  repugnance  to  fasting  and  celibacy,  by  indul- 
ging their  stomachs  and  taking  wives,  thus  breaking 
their  sacred  vows. 

Macaulay,  who  is  a strong  anti- Catholic,  admits 
that  “ no  part  of  the  system  of  the  old  church  had 
been  more  detested  by  the  reformers,  [Saxon  and  Ger- 
man,] than  the  honor  paid  to  celibacy. 

“ They  held  that  the  doctrine  of  Rome  on  this  subject 
had  been  prophetically  condemned  by  the  apostle 
Paul,  as  a doctrine  of  devils ; and  they  dwelt  much 
upon  the  crimes  and  scandals  (of  their  own  An- 
glo-Saxon and  German  priests)  which  seemed  to 
prove  the  justice  of  this  awful  denunciation.”  The 
very  same  argument  is  now  used  by  the  very  same 
race  against  the  institution  of  marriage,  by  those  Eng- 
lish Mormonites,  and  free-lovers,  and  German  gos- 
pel libertines.  Still  there  are  good  people  in  Eng- 
land. 

Macaulay  shows  that  the  Puritan  age  was  an  age 
of  hypocrisy,  that  was  followed  by  an  age  of  impu- 

19* 


222  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

dence.  The  Saxon  mind,  let  loose  again,  showed  its 
disgusting  features.  “ From  Dryden  down  to  Durfey, 
the  common  characteristic  was  hard-hearted,  shSme- 
less,  swaggering  licentiousness,  at  once  inelegant  and 
inhuman.”  “ Nothing  is  more  characteristic  of  the 
times  than  the  care  with  which  the  poets  continued  to 
put  all  their  loosest  verses  into  the  mouths  of  women, 
and  nothing  charmed  the  depraved  audience  so  much 
as  to  hear  lines  grossly  indecent,  repeated  by  a beauti- 
ful girl  who  was  supposed  to  have  not  yet  lost  her  in- 
nocence.” 

After  the  emancipation  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  from 
the  pope,  where  do  we  find  the  teacher  of  the  gospel 
and  the  defender  of  female  chastity  ? We  find  him  as 
a luxurious  state  bishop,  who  left  the  cultivation  of 
the  vineyard  of  the  Lord  to  the  parsons  and  common 
chaplains,  who  were  mere  scullions  and  flunkies,  in 
the  lowest  grade.  Macaulay  proves  this,  and  says 
that  “ the  chaplain  was  the  resource  of  a lady’s  maid 
whose  character  had  been  blown  upon,  and  who  was 
therefore  forced  to  give  up  hopes  of  catching  the  stew- 
ard.” The  same  Protestant  authority  shows  that 
respectable  girls  considered  it  disgraceful  to  marry  a 
clergyman,  because  it  was  a proverbial  fact,  that  the 
parson  generally  got  promotion  to  his  living  by  marry- 
ing some  girl  who  had  been  seduced  by  the  patron. 
This  disgusting  meanness  of  men  and  degradation 
of  women  is  peculiarly  Saxon,  and  still  prevails  in 
England,  as  we  shall  see. 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  223 


From  the  Critic,  November  1,  1856. 

Macaulay’s  Young  Levite. — For  his  character  of 
the  clergy  in  the  early  volumes  Macaulay  has  been  as- 
sailed possibly  with  greater  virulence  than  for  any 
other  portion.  The  following  verses  of  a poem,  enti- 
tled The  Chaplain's  Petition  to  the  Honorable  House 
for  Redress  of  Grievances , from  the  unpublished  his- 
torical MS.  collections  of  the  British  Museum,  seem 
confirmatory  of  his  views  : — 

i. 

Since  the  ladies  ’gainst  men 
Have  to  paper  put  pen, 

By  way  of  humble  petition, 

In  hope  your  good  pleasure 
Will  once  be  at  leisure 
To  mend  now  their  scurvy  condition. 

* * * * 

VI. 

Next,  when  we’ve  said  grace, 

Let’s  at  table  have  place, 

And  not  skulk  so  among  the  waiters, 

Or  come  in  with  the  fruit, 

To  give  thanks,  and  sneak  out 
To  dine  upon  half-empty  platters. 

VII. 

But  besides  store  of  dishes, 

(One  part  of  our  wishes,) 

To  fortify  man  sacerdotal  — 

Eleemosynary  junk, 

And  beare  to  get  drunk, 

We  humbly  desire  you  to  vote  all. 


224  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


VIII. 

Item,  pray  make  us  able 
To  command  steed  in  stable, 

When  we  are  disposed  ad  reddendum 
And  if  we  want  boots, 

Whips,  spurs,  or  surtouts, 

Oblige  surly  grooms  straight  to  lend  'em. 

IX. 

Nor  let  our  great  patrons, 

Or  their  ruling  matrons, 

Read  the  butlers  a juniper  lecture, 

If  sometimes  they  pass 
To  our  hands  a stole  glass, 

Or  some  little  orts  of  confecture. 

x. 

Where  long  we  have  served, 

And  preferment  deserved, 

Let’s  not  miss  of  our  expectations 
By  every  Soph’s  letter 
For  a friend  — that’s  no  better, 

Our  patron's  blockhead  relations. 

Anglo-Germanicus. 

31  Burton  Street,  Burton  Crescent. 

It  appears,  then,  from  the  above,  that  the  English 
women  of  the  present  day  only  follow  the  example  of 
their  mothers  in  sending  up  petitions  u to  mend  their 
scurvy  condition.” 

The  desire  of  his  reverence  to  get  “ charity  junk,  and 
beer  to  get  drunk,”  does  not  sound  quite  orthodox. 

I will  say  nothing  of  the  Dolly  Tearsheets  and  pert 
waiting  maids  who  have  always  been  pet  characters 
on  the  English  stage.  But  let  us  look  at  the  respecta- 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  225 

ble  Wives  of  Windsor.  Could  women  of  their  posi- 
tion in  any  other  country  behave  so  ? Could  you  get 
any  decent  tradesmen’s  wives  in  Ireland  to  enter  into 
such  intrigues,  and  to  promise,  even  in  joke,  to  com- 
mit adultery  ? No ! None  but  an  English  virgin 
queen  could  command  such  plays  to  be  acted  before 
her.  But  Shakspeare  is  truly  modest,  compared  with 
the  poets,  novelists,  dramatists,  of  less  talent,  but 
more  baseness  and  vulgarity,  who  pandered  to  the  na- 
tional English  taste. 

Is  morality  any  better  under  Victoria?  We  shall 
find  the  answer  to  that  in  its  proper  place — where 
parliamentary  Blue  Books  and  English  writers  prove 
that  the  English  at  large  are  the  most  brutified  race 
in  Europe ; yet  there  is  plenty  of  Celtic  blood  and 
many  good  people  in  England. 


226  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


CHAPTER  XII. 

ANGLO-ORANGE  GOTHS  IN  IRELAND. 

Irishmen  may  indeed  weep  over  the  history  of  their 
emerald  home,  as  it  is  written  by  English-bred  men, 
who  consider  that  bloody  battles,  political  intrigues, 
and  loyalty  or  disloyalty  to  scoundrel  kings,  makes 
up  the  sum  of  human  destiny.  But  the  philosopher 
who  believes  that  human  progress  is  coexistent  with 
the  extension  of  Christian  faith,  and  that  true  liberty 
and  happiness  are  founded  on  individual  virtue  and 
social  fraternity,  must  glow  with  satisfaction  as  he 
traces  the  history  of  man’s  heart  and  soul  in  the  social 
life  of  Ireland.  Until  the  Irish  were  set  upon  by 
Orange  bloodhounds  ; until  society  was  poisoned  by 
sectarian  malignity  and  Saxon  cant ; ay,  even  until 
the  union  with  England  was  at  last  effected  in  1800,  — 
the  Irishman’s  hearth  was  cheerful,  joyous,  hospitable, 
and  musical.  Friend  or  foe  was  equally  welcome, 
high  and  low  met  and  shook  hands,  in  that  upper 
world,  that  heaven  on  earth,  where  the  Irish  matron 
ruled  supreme. 

Cead  mille  failtlie  expressed  the  overflowing  good- 
ness of  the  Irish  mother’s  heart. 

The  Norman-French  conquerors  retained  through  * 
all  their  tyranny  a dash  of  generosity,  a chivalrous 


* 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  227 

spirit,  a sense  of  honor,  a love  of  music,  a respect  for 
woman,  and  affection  for  children,  until  they  got  mixed 
with  the  blood  of  the  English,  and  were  nursed  on  the 
milk  of  English  mothers. 

I say  it  is  a clear  historical  fact,  that  every  succeed- 
ing generation  of  the  English  aristocracy  became  more 
self-conceited,  more  base,  bloody,  and  brutal,  since 
their  blood  was  Saxonized.  The  Irish  landlords,  who 
i have  more  of  the  Dutch-Orange  blood,  and  boast 
more  of  their  Saxonism,  are,  if  possible,  worse  than 
the  English.  The  Times,  even  the  London  Times, 
acknowledged  that  “ their  name  stinks  over  the  earth.” 

Ah,  how  different  were  the  old  Celtic  chiefs  and 
the  Norman-French  invaders,  who  mixed  with  the 

r 

Celtic  people,  and  nursed  at  Celtic  breasts.  They 
were  often  fierce  and  tyrannical,  but  they  had  none  of 
that  crawling,  flunky  loyalty  and  vulgar  conceit. 
They  did  not,  in  cold  blood,  starve  and  exterminate 
the  poor  with  the  fiendish  hatred  and  gospel  hypocri- 
! sy  of  the  Orange  landlord. 

The  conduct  of  the  proud  Norman-French  conquer- 
ors in  England  forms  an  extraordinary  contrast  to  the 
behavior  of  the  same  race  in  Ireland,  as  regards 
woman.  When  Henry  had  a design  upon  Ireland,  he 
made  a pretence  of  civilizing  it,  and  of  freeing  the 
Saxon  slaves,  who  sold  themselves  to  the  Hibernians. 

; He  endeavored  to  misrepresent  them  to  the  pope,  an 
! Englishman. 

While  the  noble,  brave,  free  Milesians  fought 
against  the  disgusting  flunkyism  and  slavery  of  the 

! f 


228  CONDITION  OP  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

English  system,  they  were  misrepresented  to  Europe, 
as  they  are  to  this  day;  and  it  was  considered  merito- 
rious to  assassinate  an  unarmed  or  unsuspecting 
“ mere  Irishman.”  But  the  Norman-French,  who 
came  to  know  the  country  and  the  people,  formed  very 
different  opinions  of  them.  The  proud  conquerors  of 
England,  who  called  even  the  Saxon  aristocracy  “ Sax- 
on porkers,”  and  even  looked  upon  the  English  as 
mere  savages,  were  struck  with  admiration  of  the  free 
and  enlightened  Irish  institutions.  The  beauty,  dig- 
nity, and  purity  of  Irish  ladies  were  such  that  the  chiv- 
alrous invaders  considered  it  an  honor  to  form  alli- 
ances with  them.  The  English  kings  persisted  in 
their  misrepresentations,  and  in  their  ideas  of  conquer- 
ing Ireland;  but  the  nobles  sent  to  reduce  the  country 
became  u more  Irish  than  the  Irish  themselves,”  exhibit- 
ing the  usual  zeal  of  converts  to  truth,  virtue,  and  liberty. 

The  English  tyrants  wanted  to  crush  the  democrat- 
ic spirit  of  the  Irish  institutions,  and  the  endearing 
and  generous  customs  that  bound  the  nobles  and  the 
peasantry  in  the  bond  of  fraternity.  The  invading 
nobles  were  in  vain  forbidden  to  marry  with  the  proud 
Irish,  or  to  associate  themselves  with  the  peasantry  by 
means  of  fosterage.  This  was  a custom  the  Irish 
kings  and  chieftains  had  of  sending  their  infants  to 
be  nursed  and  reared  by  the  peasant  women,  who 
were  therefore  called  foster  mothers , and  treated  with 
the  most  affectionate  respect  by  the  family  of  the 
chief.  Sons  of  the  nobles  and  of  the  peasantry  called 
each  other  “ foster  brothers,”  from  having  nursed  at 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  229 

the  same  breast,  and  they  used  to  stand  by  each  other 
in  the  field  of  battle. 

The  noble-born  infants  were  sent  to  the  peasant’s 
cottage,  where  they  were  received  as  guests.  The 
Irish  lady  never  degraded  the  nurse  of  her  child  by 
treating  her  as  a menial,  in  the  manner  of  the  English 
aristocracy. 

They  had  their  Saxon  female  slaves  about  the 
house,  but  the  Irish  mothers  would  not  let  their  chil- 
dren drink  the  milk  of  a?  Sas Sana. 

It  was  an  old  opinion  that  an  infant  imbibes  the 
propensities  of  the  wet  nurse,  and  that  its  impressible 
mind  becomes  stamped  with  her  character,  whether 
for  integrity  or  meanness.  There  is  much  truth  in 
this  opinion,  because  tender  infancy  acquires,  by  in- 
stinct, impressions  and  ideas  that  form  the  ground- 
work of  character  through  life. 

I mention  this  fact,  or  superstition,  to  prove  that  the 
peasant  foster  mother  was  highly  honored  among  the 
old  Irish. 

The  idea  that  an  infant  imbibes  the  character  of 
the  nurse  along  with  her  milk  is  very  ancient  among 
the  Celts.  It  is  said  that  the  chaste  Pallas  took  the 
infant  Hercules  and  put  him  to  the  breast  of  the 
sleeping  Juno,  and  that  he  thereby  acquired  his  nobili- 
ty of  soul,  love  of  virtue,  and  immortality. 

This  idea  seems  to  have  been  popular  also  in  Judea. 
A woman  cried  out  to  our  Saviour,  “ Blessed  is  the 
womb  that  bore  thee,  and  the  paps  that  gave  thee 
suck.”  The  reply  of  Christ  is  an  approval  of  the  ob- 

20 


230  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

servation,  and  implies  that  his  mother  had  still  a great- 
er merit,  in  belonging  to  those  who  know  the  law  and 
keep  it. 

Honest  poor  persons  are  respected  in  Ireland  when 
they  show  humility  without  servility.  The  term  beg- 
gar is  only  applied  to  mean  people,  crawling  depend- 
ants. It  is  a terrible  reproach  to  say  of  any  one,  “A 
beggar  nursed  him,”  assuming  that  he  had  imbibed 
the  base  spirit  of  the  nurse. 

44  In  English  the  word  family  now  excludes  the  ser- 
vants. But  in  Spain  and  Italy  (as  once  in  England) 
the  word  family  embraces  the  servants,  who  are  con- 
sidered to  form  a part  of  the  family.”  ( Cardinal 
Wiseman.)  ^ 

The  old  Irish  institution  of  fosterage  speaks  volumes 
in  favor  of  the  proud  position  which  the  Irish  woman 
maintained,  even  in  the  peasant’s  cabin.  The  Celts 
were  always  inclined  to  respect  and  elevate  woman, 
while  the  English  have  made  even  their  wet  nurses 
beggarly  menials  of  the  household.  The  English,  in 
degrading  46  the  lower  orders,”  as  they  call  them,  only 
debase  themselves.  There  is  scarcely  one  of  the  pres- 
ent English  aristocracy  of  whom  we  cannot  say,  44  A 
beggar  nursed  him.” 

There  is  a worse  feature  in  Englishism.  Most  of 
the  wet  nurses  are  unmarried,  and  these  are  taken  in 
preference,  so  that  it  can  be  said  of  the  English  gen- 
tleman, 44  A nursed  him.” 

But  there  is  a worse  feature  still  in  Englishism. 
Many  of  these  unmarried  and  unblushing  wet  nurses 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  231 

kill  their  own  babes  in  order  that  they  may  have  no 
encumbrance  in  the  way  of  their  admission  to  the  lux- 
urious home  of  the  aristocrat.  But,  generally  speak- 
ing, the  unnatural  mothers  send  them  to  the  old  hag 
nurses,  who  kill  them  with  spoon-feeding  and  lauda- 
num— the  poor  infant  being  sacrificed  for  the  benefit 
of  the  rich  one. 

English  ladies  are  well  aware  that  their  wet  nurses 
generally  leave  their  own  poor  babes  to  the  care  of 
old  women  for  a miserable  pittance.  Instead  of  the 
mother’s  breast,  the  poor  deserted  infants  get  spoon- 
feeding and  the  laudanum  bottle.  English  ladies 
know  all  this,  and  wink  at  it.  How  different  the  old 
Irish  system  of  fosterage  ! 

English  ladies  who  would  refuse  the  hand  of  a gen- 
* tleman’s  son  consider  it  an  honor  to  marry  a lord’s 
bastard.  In  fact,  the  honor  attached  to  matrimony 
and  legitimacy  is  held  by  English  ladies  in  small 
; esteem,  compared  with  wealth  and  title. 

English  women  of  the  upper  class  are  more  moral, 

■ because  under  less  temptation  ; but  in  many  cases  they 
: wink  at  iniquity.  The  proof  of  this  serious  charge  is 
in  the  fact  that  prostitution  is  indirectly  encouraged 
by  the  ladies  of  England,  who  prefer  unmarried  wet 
nurses  for  their  children.  Dishonored  young  English- 
women are  not  ashamed  ; they  do  not  hide  themselves, 

. I as  unfortunate  Irish  girls  do.  English  lemans  need 
not  blush  in  English  society ; on  the  contrary,  they 
publish  themselves  in  shop  windows  and  in  newspa- 
pers ; as  for  example, — 


090 


CONDITION  OP  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


/ 


& 


a 


“Wet  nursing  wanted  by  an  unmar- 
ried, healthy  young  woman.  Milk 
three  weeks  old.  She  can  give  respect- 
able reference  as  to  character.  Appl 


Such  girls  are  taken  into  the  English  lady’s  family. 
In  advertising  for  a breast  of  milk,  Protestantism  is 
usually  insisted  upon,  and  “ no  Irish  need  apply,”  be- 
cause Irish  women  have  superstitious  notions  about 
the  necessity  and  honor  of  marriage,  and  these  Eng- 
lish ladies  do  not  wish  to  be  bothered  with  low  Irish 
husbands  coming  to  visit  their  domestics.  (See  a re- 
markable series  of  letters  on  this  and  kindred  subjects, 
by  S.  G.  O.,  in  the  London  Times,  1853.) 

Ancient  fables  point  to  the  character  of  men,  by 
representing  them  as  nursed  by  certain  kinds  of  ani- 
mals. Thus,  for  instance,  the  founders  of  the  warlike 
Romans  are  said  to  have  been  nursed  by  a she  wolf. 
If  the  great  Irish  artist  Maclise,  who  adorned  the 
British  House  of  Parliament,  were  called  upon  to 
paint  the  English  infant  lord  and  his  nurse,  he  would* 
not  make  the  foster  mother  a wolf  or  a lioness,  but  a 
sow,  the  impure  beast  that  sometimes  destroys  her 
young ; the  very  animal,  in  fact,  that  the  old  Saxons 
worshipped. 

In  his  beautiful  poem,  “ The  Geraldines,”  Davis 
sketches  the  history  of  that  noble  old  family,  first  in 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS. 


233 


their  native  Italy,  then  in  France,  then  as  conquerors 
in  England.  Then  he  describes  their  chivalry  in  Ire- 
land, and  how  they  (as  did  the  proudest  Norman 
French)  fell  in  with  the  noble,  free,  Irish  spirit. 

“ These  Geraldines ! these  Geraldines ! not  long  our  air  they  breathed ; 

Not  long  they  fed  on  venison  in  Irish  waters  seethed  ; 

Not  often  had  their  children  been  by  Irish  mothers  nursed  ; 

When  from  their  full  and  genial  hearts  an  Irish  feeling  burst. 

“ The  English  monarchs  strove  in  vain,  by  law,  and  force,  and  bribe, 

To  win  from  Irish  thoughts  and  ways  this  ‘ more  than  Irish  tribe  ; * 

For  still  they  clung  to  fosterage,  to  breitheamh , cloak,  and  bard; 

What  king  dare  say  to  Geraldine,  ‘ Your  Irish  wife  discard  ’ ? ” 

Alas ! the  time  came  when  Irish  thoughts  dare  not 
be  expressed,  and  when  Irish  ways  were  crushed  by 
the  Dutch  usurper  and  his  mongrel  breed  of  new  pro- 
prietors, and  when  Irish  honest  servant  girls  were  in- 
sulted by  the  “ No  Irish  need  apply  ” of  the  sensual 
and  profligate  English  advertisers. 

Englishmen  did  not  find  Irish  servant  maids  com- 
pliable,  and  therefore  yelled  out,  “ No  Irish  need  ap- 
ply.” That  is  the  fact. 

The  Saxon  woman,  so  debased  and  animalized  in 
her  own  nation,  was  held  in  contempt  by  the  surround- 
ing Celts.  ^Ve  have  seen  that  the  Fish  preferred  to 
buy  pregnant  English  women,  which  proves  that  they 
employed  these  slaves  only  as  domestic  drudges,  dis- 
daining to  marry  or  cohabit  with  them. 

The  Welsh  held  the  greasy  Saxons  in  equal  con- 
20* 


234  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

tempt.  Vortigcrn  was  deposed  for  marrying  Rowena. 
The  explorer  of  British  antiquities  is  struck  with  the 
fact  that  the  Welsh  bards  of  old  pour  out  lamenta- 
tions over  the  degeneracy  of  some  Bretons  who  had 
degraded  themselves  by  marrying  Saxon  women. 
(See  the  Quarterly  Review , October,  1852.) 

When  the  French  settled  in  England,  they  used 
such  imprecations  as,  “ May  I be  an  Englishman.” 
u Do  you  take  me  for  an  Englishman?  ” 

“ One  of  the  ablest  among  them  (the  French)  at- 
tempted to  win  the  hearts  of  his  English  subjects  by 
espousing  an  English  princess  ; but  by  many  of  his 
barons  this  marriage  was  regarded  as  a marriage  by  a 
white  planter  and  a quadroon  girl  would  now  be  re- 
garded in  Virginia.  In  history,  he  is  known  by  the 
honorable  name  of  Beauclerc ; but  in  his  own  time, 
his  own  countrymen  called  him  by  a Saxon  nickname, 
in  contemptuous  allusion  to  his  Saxon  connection.” 
(See  Macaulay's  History  of  England , vol.  i.) 

It  is  no  wonder  that  English  women  were  always 
held  thus  in  contempt.  How  could  females  enslaved, 
whipped,  and  brutalized  at  home,  command  respect 
abroad  ? 

Wife-murder,  infanticide,  free  love,  and  Mormonism 
always  were,  as  they  are  now,  Anglo-Saxon  propen- 
sities. 

I repeat  the  observation,  because  it  is  an  important 
one,  that  there  is  no  fact  in  our  history  clearer  than 
this  — that  the  Norman- French  conquerors  and  settlers 
retained  the  elements  of  Christian  chivalry,  honor,  and 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  235 


humanity,  until  they  intermarried  with  the  English, 
and  gave  their  children  to  nurses,  who  inoculated 
them  with  the  Saxon  character.  The  English  aristoc- 
racy have  been  growing  more  sensual,  perfidious,  ava- 
ricious, mean,  and  merciless,  every  generation  since 
their  advent  in  England.  On  the  other  side,  the  in- 
vaders were  ennobled  and  humanized  by  their  mar- 
riages with  the  Celts,  and  the  Irish  milk  of  human 
kindness.  But  the  new  Dutch  hybrids,  the  low-bred 
ruffians  under  Cromwell  and  William  III.,  did  not 
mix  with  the  Irish  ; and  what  are  they  ? Let  their 
acts  answer. 

If  you  want  to  study  the  character  of  the  Gothic 
race  in  power, — I mean  the  mongrel  Goth,  — look  at 
the  Anglo-Orange  landlords  of  Ireland,  the  descend- 
ants of  fifers,  drummers,  and  troopers,  of  low  Dutch 
and  English  boors. 

The  absentee  landlords,  who  have  beggared  Ireland, 
pretend  that  they  are  afraid  of  their  lives,  and  cannot 
live  in  that  hateful  country.  But  the  real  danger  and 
cause  of  hatred  is  in  the  fact,  that  Irish  girls  are  too 
virtuous,  and  Irish  fathers  and  brothers  dreadfully  dan- 
gerous to  those  who  insult  their  daughters  and  sisters. 
The  Irish  are  too  patient  under  national  robbery,  but 
dishonor  they  will  not  suffer ; and  so  the  descendants 
of  nun-slayers  and  priest-hunters  hate  Ireland,  and 
betake  themselves  to  the  stews  of  “ merrie  England, 
their  mother  country.”  Thus  the  wealth  of  Ireland 
has  been  abstracted,  and  Irish  homes  made  desolate 
through  Irish  virtue.  This  is  the  literal  truth.  The 


236  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


Goth  may  boast  of  national  progress  and  material 
comfort.  But  the  Celt  might  have  enjoyed  the  same ; 
if  he  had  turned  with  the  tide  of  Protestantism  and 
loyalty,  he  might  have  kept  his  lands,  and  also  shared 
in  the  plunder  of  helpless  Indians  and  stolen  Negroes. 
But  the  martyr  Celt  abandoned  worldly  considerations 
and  the  promptings  of  sensuality,  and  preferred  pov- 
erty, fasting,  chastity,  and  the  eternal  truth.  Having 
come  through  the  fire,  he  may  yet  enjoy  national  pros- 
perity and  domestic  comfort. 

It  is  probable  that  the  unfathomable  baseness  of 
the  Gothic  and  Saxon  character  never  fully  developed 
itself,  as  it  could  not,  until  the  race  was  brought  into 
a civilized  region  ; then  they  found  themselves  to  be 
the  most  relentless  despots  in  power,  and  the  most 
crawling  wretches  in  distress.  The  self-debasement 
of  the  Saxon  was  also  a characteristic  of  his  German 
cousin. 

We  have  already  seen  that  the  Anglo-Saxons  and 
Germans  used  to  sell  themselves  for  their  feed,  when 
they  had  no  wives  or  children  to  dispose  of.  It  is  the 
distinction  of  this  flunky  race,  that  they  alone  of  all 
nations  in  history  had  to  be  prevented  by  law  from 
selling  themselves. 

The  most  brutalizing  slavery  and  debasement  of 
woman  are  peculiar  only  to  the  Saxons  and  Goths. 
The  Turks  are  gentlemen  compared  with  them.  The 
Frenchmen  who  conquered  England  were  proud, 
fierce  tyrants,  yet  they  could  also  be  gallant  and  hu- 
mane. But  their  descendants  have  been  so  mixed 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  237 

with  the  Saxonized  Orange  blood,  and  the  Dutch, 
Hessian,  and  other  German  invaders,  with  Prince 
Albert  Saxe- Gotha  at  their  head,  that  the  aristocracy 
of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  are  now,  as  every  one 
knows,  the  meanest  and  most  perfidious  in  the  world, 
incapable  of  any  thing  generous  or  glorious.  We 
find  them  base  in  proportion  as  they  are  Saxonized. 
For  example  : near  Ballinasloe  there  is  a noble  landlord 
family.  They  were  originally  of  the  Low  Dutch  fol- 
lowers of  William,  Prince  of  Orange.  Their  name  is 
Trenck.  By  the  stingy  penury  peculiar  to  the  race, 
and,  it  is  reported,  by  swindling,  and  perjury  against 
rebel  Papists,  and  by  loyalty  to  the  sacred  person  of 
majesty,  this  family  arose  from  meanness  into  afflu- 
ence. One  of  them  is  now  nicknamed  Lord  “ Clan- 
cloaky.”  His  brother,  an  archdeacon,  was  called 
“ Skin-em-alive ,”  because  he  used  to  flog  poor  women 
naked  in  the  public  market.  These  men  were  most 
zealous  when  they  had  the  power  to  degrade  the  peas- 
antry according  to  Anglo-Saxon  style. 

In  1835,  these  Saxon-Orange  landlords  got  harness 
made  for  their  servants,  and  yoked  them  to  ploughs, 
and  made  them  plough  the  bogs  of  Clancarty.  There 
is  no  doubt  but  that  this  practice  would  have  contin- 
ued and  extended  into  other  Orange  estates,  if  the 
peasantry  had  submitted  to  it.  But  the  people,  who 
bore,  with  the  best  grace  they  could,  defeat  and  rob- 
bery by  a more  powerful  nation,  could  not  yield  to 
this  Saxon  debasement.  They  arose  in  their  fury,  and 


238  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

compelled  the  Gothic  lord  to  put  away  his  Saxon 
harness. 

These  facts  are  well  known  in  the  county  of  Gal- 
way, and  Dr.  J.  Brannique,  of  Brooklyn,  can  testify  to 
them. 

I have  in  my  possession  a petition  from  a poor 
man,  Michael  Hammon,  begging  for  work ; and  the 
answer  of  this  Lord  Clancarty,  this  scion  of  an  Or- 
ange-Dutch boor,  this  loyal  flunky,  who  crawls  to 
royalty,  refuses  to  grant  work  unless  the  wretch  would 
sell  the  souls  of  his  family ; unless  he  would  send  his 
children  to  become  Protestants,  knowing  it  was 
against  their  conscience. 

This  is  but  one  of  many  examples  I could  quote  to 
prove  that  the  most  debasing  slavery  and  degradation 
of  man  and  woman  have  ever  proceeded  from  the  Goth- 
ic race.  The  lords  of  Ireland  are  chiefly  of  Gothic  or 
mongrel  blood.  They  do  all  in  their  power  to  torture 
and  humiliate  the  poor.  In  the  workhouses  the  chil- 
dren are  separated  from  the  mothers,  and  the  husband 
from  the  wife.  Wherever  the  base-born  landlords  can 
manage  it,  they  exclude  the  nuns  from  attending  to 
the  wretched  victims  of  oppression. 

These  nuns,  these  pure,  devoted,  angelic  ladies,  are 
daughters  of  the  old  race,  and  even  of  the  noble  and 
royal  blood  of  Ireland ; consequently  they  are  hated 
by  the  vulgar,  kid-glove  savages  that  a mysterious  dis- 
pensation of  Providence  has  put  in  power. 

These  Gothic  hypocrites,  who  soil  the  Bible  with  the 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  239 

blood  of  innocents, — these  Orange  beasts  of  prey, 
who  have  laid  Ireland  waste, — these  swindling  black- 
guards, who  spend  the  fruits  of  peasant  industry  in 
London  brothels, — these  lords  and  squires  have  of 
course  a hatred  for  nuns,  and  object  to  their  educat- 
ing the  young  girls  in  ideas  of  purity. 


240  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

ENGLISH  NIGGERS. 

In  speaking  of  the  condition  of  children,  we  must 
not  forget  the  white  slaves  of  England,  still  bought 
and  sold,  called  chummies , or  chimney  sweeps.  In 
illustrating  their  condition,  I cannot  do  better  than 
quote  from  the  new  work,  “ Tit  for  Tat.”  The  au- 
thor says,  — 

“ There  is  a race  of  beings,  by  the  initiated  facetious- 
ly denominated  4 chummies ,’  which  exists  only  in  hu- 
mane Britain.  Outside  barbarians  call  them  chimney 
sweeps.  This  race  is  black,  not  from  blood,  but  from 
soot.  I beheld  specimens  of  these  crippled,  distorted, 
bleeding  bits  of  humanity,  and  at  sight  was  taken 
down  by  a sympathetic  fever  ” — that  is,  the  black 
fever,  the  Uncle  Tomism  that  rages  in  England. 

The  author  shows  from  parliamentary  reports  that 
there  are  about  four  thousand  infants  employed  in 
England,  instead  of  sweeping  machines,  to  climb  up 
and  clean  down  chimneys. 

It  is  true  that  a law  was  passed  abolishing  this  kind 
of  slavery,  and  of  consequence  preventing  English 
parents  from  selling  or  using  their  children  for  such 
purposes ; but  English  master-sweeps  and  the  English 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  241 


public  find  that  it  is  cheaper  to  employ  children,  and 
so  they  are  still  employed  in  defiance  of  law. 

“ This  law  to  put  down  all  the  atrocities  of  climb- 
ing children,  is  essentially  a law  to  protect  the  children 
of  the  poor,  even  from  their  own  parents,  who,  I am 
sorry  to  say,  are  among  the  very  foremost  to  sell  their 
children  into  this  slavery.  The  evidence  on  the  com- 
mittee before  the  bill  was  passed  was  most  revolting, 
was  most  overwhelming.  It  was  an  opprobrium  upon 
any  civilized  country.5’  The  evidence  which  led  to 
this  law  showed  that  many  thousands  of  children  were 
found  to  be  exposed  to  the  most  hideous  cruelties, 
burned  and  roasted  alive,  tortured  by  brutal  and  drunk- 
en masters,  driven  up  chimneys  in  flames,  falling  down 
chimneys  on  fire,  going  into  boiler  flues  so  hot  that 
they  were  obliged  to  have  boards  put  under  them  to 
prevent  them  from  being  gridironed  alive  ; and  in  ad- 
dition to  all  this,  the  children  were  constantly  sold  by 
their  parents  and  masters  for  five  shillings  a head  to 
undergo  all  this  iniquity.  It  was  impossible  to  edu- 
cate them,  because  they  were  never  able  to  herd  with 
any  others  in  their  own  class.  Scarcely  any  of  them 
could  read  or  write.  Very  rarely  washed,  they  slept 
upon  heaps  of  soot  in  most  revolting  cellars ; they 
had  little  or  no  food  given  them,  except  the  broken 
victuals  that  they  begged  at  the  houses  where  they 
were  employed.  They  began  this  incarnate  degrada- 
tion as  young  as  five  years  of  age,  when  our  own 
children  have  not  escaped  from  the  nursery.  And, 
finally,  by  their  constant  contact  with  the  soot,  they 

21 


242  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

laid  the  seeds  of  a most  revolting  cancer,  (called 
chimney  sweep's  cancer ,)  which  frequently  terminated 
their  existence  under  circumstances  of  the  most  offen- 
sive suffering.” 

The  poor  children,  in  their  first  essays,  find  it  almost 
physically  impossible  to  climb  up  the  narrow,  crooked 
chimneys  ; but  with  the  black  cap  drawn  over  their 
faces,  up  the  fearful  passage  they  must  go.  Their 
natural  repugnance  to  the  business  must  be  overcome 
by  the  most  unflinching  brutality.  “ A child  is  put  up 
a chimney,  and  if  he  will  not  climb,  the  master  puts 
his  hand  under  him,  and  runs  some  sharp  instrument 
into  him.  Generally,  I believe,  an  old  boy  is  sent  up 
after  him  with  a pin,  or  a shoemaker’s  awl,  and  some- 
times fires  have  been  lit  under  a child,  who  is  thus 
driven  up  to  escape  the  flames.” 

The  following  extracts  are  from  minutes  of  evidence 
taken  before  the  select  committee  of  the  House  of 
Lords,  appointed  to  inquire  into  the  expediency  or  in- 
expediency of  the  regulations  contained  in  the  Chim- 
ney Sweeper’s  Regulation  Act  Amendment  bill,  and 
to  report  thereon  to  the  House,  at  the  session  of  1852-3, 
and  ordered  to  be  printed  June  7,  1853 : — 

“ Was  all  that  established  by  evidence  in  a court  of 
justice  ? — Precisely.  The  Lord  Chief  Baron  entered 
into  the  case  minutely,  and  told  the  prisoner  at  the 
bar,  in  his  judgment,  in  addition  to  causing  the  death 
of  the  boy,  he  was  punishable,  by  allowing  a child  at 
so  tender  an  age  to  sweep  chimneys  at  all.  His  lord- 
ship  then  said,  on  the  prisoner  being  found  guilty,  that 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  243 


the  case,  from  its  atrocity,  required  some  considera- 
tion; therefore  he  should  defer  his  sentence.  On  the 
following  day,  the  prisoner  being  brought  up  to  receive 
sentence,  his  lordship  observed,  that  the  prisoner  had 
violated  a law  intended  to  do  away  with  the  cruelties 
practised  on  young  persons  employed  by  individuals 
in  the  business  which  he,  the  prisoner,  followed,  and 
that  he  had,  besides,  caused  the  death  of  a fellow- 
creature  by  the  course  he  had  pursued.  After  com- 
menting on  his  crime,  his  lordship  said  he  hoped  the 
punishment  he  was  about  to  inflict  would  act  as  a 
warning  to  all  persons,  and  he  sentenced  the  prisoner 
to  ten  years’  transportation.  The  date  of  this  case 
was  August,  1847.  The  next  case  bears  date  Decem- 
ber, 1850.  Stephen  Ratcliffe,  eleven  years  of  age,  was 
employed  by  his  master,  William  Davies,  of  Manches- 
ter, to  cleanse  the  flues  round  a steam  engine  boiler. 
He  and  another  boy  went  into  one  of  the  flues,  the 
master  being  engaged  in  clearing  away  the  soot,  as  the 
lads  brought  it  to  the  mouth  of  the  flue.  After  some 
time,  the  master  called  out  for  a doctor,  stating  that  he 
believed  the  boy  Ratcliffe  was  dead,  which  proved  to 
be  the  case.  About  twenty  minutes  after  the  deceased 
was  taken  away,  a person  went  into  the  flue  which 
the  child  had  been  sweeping,  and  found  the  heat  so 
great,  that,  to  use  his  own  words,  he  c would  not  have 
liked  to  have  kept  his  hand  there  more  than  five  or  ten 
minutes.’  The  dead  boy  was  found  about  ten  feet 
down  the  flue.  He  had  been  out  before,  and  com- 
plained of  the  heat ; he  was  afterwards  heard  to  cry. 


244  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

On  examination  of  the  dead  body,  there  was  a burn 
found  on  the  left  shoulder,  another  on  the  left  arm, 
and  a third  on  the  left  hip;  both  his  ankles,  his  face, 
and  his  ears  were  also  burned.  Some  of  the  burns 
were  severe,  the  skin  being  oil’;  the  internal  organs 
were  found  congested  with  blood,  and  gave  evidence 
of  the  child  having  died  of  suffocation.  The  verdict 
returned  by  the  coronor’s  jury  was,  4 Accidentally  suf- 
focated in  a heated  flue.’  That  is  all  that  follows  the 
murder  of  this  child.  In  the  year  1850  this  is  the 
only  result  of  such  a frightful  case. 

44  Was  the  man  never  put  on  his  trial  ? No.  In  Feb- 
ruary,1850, at  Nottingham, a boynamed  Samuel  Whitt, 
ten  years  of  age,  was  sent  up  a chimney,  in  the  grate  of 
which  was  smouldering  a small  portion  of  fire.  As  the 
child  remained  some  long  period  without  attempting 
to  return,  and  made  no  answer  when  called,  an  elder 
boy  was  sent  up  the  flue  to  bring  him  down  ; but  find- 
ing the  child  jammed  fast  in  the  chimney,  beyond  all 
power  of  extrication,  the  elder  boy  was  obliged  to  re- 
turn unsuccessful.  A bricklayer  was  then  employed 
to  cut  a passage  through  the  wall ; but  this  process, 
being  difficult,  from  the  extreme  thickness  of  the 
building,  and  likely  to  occupy  much  time,  was  aban- 
doned. The  elder  boy  was  again  sent  up  the  chimney, 
when,  taking  hold  of  the  little  boy  by  the  legs,  he  sus- 
pended himself  from  this  child  of  ten  years  of  age ; a 
third  person  below  attached  himself  to  the  legs  of  the 
second  boy,  and  thus  they  attempted  to  drag  him 
down,  by  doubling  the  weight.  By  these  means  the 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  245 

unfortunate  child  was  torn  away  in  an  almost  lifeless 
state,  half  naked,  bleeding,  and  bruised  ; and,  after 
lingering  many  hours  in  dreadful  torture,  death,  more 
kind  than  man,  put  an  end  to  his  existence. 

“ What  was  done  upon  it  ? The  result  of  this  in 
the  town  of  Nottingham  showed  that  the  master  did 
not  possess  any  machinery ; the  child’s  murder  never 
caused  any  sensation  in  the  place,  and  the  master  was 
unvisited  with  any  punishment  whatever. 

44  Was  there  any  verdict  of  the  coroner?  No  notice 
seems  to  have  been  taken  of  it  at  all.  There  are  two 
cases  which  go  back  to  1848 ; in  one  case  a sweep 
was  stolen  from  Nottingham,  and  brought  to  the 
chimney  sweeping  trade  in  Hull.  In  another  case,  a 
child  was  proved  to  have  been  sold  five  different  times 
to  as  many  different  master  sweeps  ; and,  at  last,  this 
coming  before  the  magistrates  on  sworn  testimony,  the 
child  was  brought  forward  in  court  by  a stout,  middle- 
aged  woman,  Mrs.  Chapman,  in  whose  care  he  had 
been  put  by  Mr.  Perritt,  surgeon.  The  lad  was  una- 
ble to  walk,  and  was  placed  by  the  woman  on  the  table. 
On  partially  removing  a large  shawl  which  covered  him, 
and  taking  away  from  him  certain  cloths  which  were 
wrapped  round  the  right  arm  and  both  legs,  their  ap- 
pearance gave  a very  shocking  sensation  to  the  magis- 
trates, who  found  both  knees  very  much  swollen,  and 
also  the  ankles  and  the  right  wrist,  the  nurse  who  put 
him  on  the  table  saying  that  both  his  legs  were  as  soft 
as  a mummy. 

44  What  was  the  age  of  the  child  ? — Ten  years  of 

21  * 


246  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

age.  The  boy,  and  other  witnesses  corroborating  him, 
informed  the  magistrates  that  in  this  enfeebled  condi- 
tion he  had  been  carried  on  his  master’s  back  from 
place  to  place,  as  he  was  unable  to  walk,  and  had 
been  forced  to  go  up  and  clean  several  chimneys.  The 
boy  stated  that  his  master  had  beaten  his  arm  with  a 
boot,  which  caused  the  swelling  of  the  wrist;  and  in 
this  state  he  was  carried  to  climb  twelve  chimneys  on 
Saturday  morning.  The  day  before  this  evidence  was 
given,  after  this  child  had  swept  two  chimneys,  he  was 
taken  and  laid  under  the  window  of  Mr.  Maloney,  and 
thence  removed  on  the  back  of  a man  named  Batty, 
to  sweep  other  chimneys.  The  surgeon,  on  being  ex- 
amined, deposed  that  he  was  called  in  to  view  the  child 
on  the  day  before  the  testimony  was  given,  and  that  he 
considered  the  child’s  life  to  be  in  danger.  Alderman 
Cookman,  the  magistrate,  who  tried  the  case  at  Hull, 
declared  from  the  bench  that  such  a state  of  things 
was  so  horrible  that  he  would  see  the  master  should 
be  prosecuted,  and  he  would  pay  the  expenses  him- 
self. 4 As  to  slavery,’  said  the  alderman,  4 talk  about 
slavery,  — there  is  no  slavery  in  the  world  like  this.’ 

44  Do  you  know  what  the  result  was  ? No.  The 
next  case  happened  at  Sheffield,  on  the  1st  of  July, 
1848.  A climbing  boy  having  dropped  one  of  his 
shoes  in  a ditch,  the  master,  being  informed  of  it,  took 
the  lad  up  by  his  leg  and  foot,  and  dashed  him  with 
considerable  violence  on  the  ground.  The  child  being 
rendered  insensible,  the  prisoner’s  brother  exclaimed, 
4 Thou  hast  done  it  now ; thou  hast  killed  him.’  It 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  247 


was  then  proved  that  the  prisoner  had  been  in  the 
habit  of  making  this  lad  stand  for  a long  time  on  one 
leg,  with  two  bricks  on  his  head.  The  child,  on  being 
brought  forward,  exhibited  a wound  to  the  mayor  be- 
hind the  left  ear,  which  had  been  made  by  his  master 
penetrating  the  lower  lobe  of  the  ear  with  his  thumb 
nail.  On  being  made  to  show  his  feet,  they  exhibited 
severe  marks  of  excoriation,  the  result  of  climbing 
chimneys ; and  it  was  proved,  that  on  the  preceding 
Wednesday,  in  the  fair-week,  he  had  climbed  no  fewer 
than  nine  chimneys  ; and  into  this  slavery  the  child 
had  been  sold  by  his  own  mother. 

“ What  was  done  on  those  nine  offences  ? — There  is 
no  decision  reported  on  the  cruelty  in  that  case.  We 
now  come  to  one  of  the  latest  cases,  the  case  of  George 
Wilson,  ten  years  of  age,  who,  on  the  19th  of  June, 
1851,  at  Hunslet,  near  Leeds,  was,  by  his  master,  sent 
up  to  clean  nine  chimneys,  one  after  the  other.  In 
the  tenth  chimney  the  child  expired.  On  this  case 
coming  to  my  knowledge,  I immediately  wrote  to  the 
coroner  of  the  district,  Mr.  Blackburn,  who  sent  me 
the  following  reply  : 4 Sir:  in  answer  to  your  inquiry, 
I beg  to  say,  that  I held  an  inquest  last  week  upon 
the  body  of  George  Wilson,  ten  years  old,  who  was 
suffocated  in  a flue  at  Hunslet.  near  this  place.  It 
appeared  in  evidence,  that  on  the  same  day  the  boy 
had  swept  nine  chimneys  prior  to  entering  the  flue  ; 
but  there  was  not  sufficient  evidence  to  show  the  mas- 
ter’s knowledge  of  the  circumstances,  or  I should  have 
directed  the  jury  to  find  him  guilty  of  manslaughter. 


248  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

It  was  a cruel  case,  and  I immediately  communicated 
with  the  magistrate’s  clerk  upon  the  subject,  who,  I 
expect,  will  take  up  the  matter.  From  what  I could 
learn,  I believe  the  practice  of  sending  boys  up  chim- 
neys and  flues  is  very  common  here,  and  there  is  a 
difficulty  in  getting  parties  to  make  complaints. 

“ Can  you  give  any  estimate  of  the  number  of  in- 
fants still  employed  in  defiance  of  the  law,  and  there- 
fore liable  to  be  similarly  murdered  to  the  boy  at 
Hunslet?  — Yes;  as  near  as  we  can  calculate,  in  the 
United  Kingdom,  the  children  employed  in  defiance 
of  the  law  are  no  less  in  number  than  four  thousand. 

“ Now,  in  your  opinion,  to  what  cause  is  this  gross 
violation  of  the  law  due  ? — In  London,  where,  of 
course,  in  a population  of  two  millions  and  a half,  as 
many  difficult  chimneys  must  exist  as  any  where,  and 
larger  buildings,  the  act  is  perfectly  observed.  There 
may  be  an  exception  here  and  there,  which  proves  the 
general  rule  ; but  in  the  country,  as  a general  rule,  it 
is  totally  disregarded ; and  for  this  reason,  that  in  the 
country  the  law  is  administered  by  unpaid  magistrates, 
and  in  London  it  is  administered  by  stipendiary  magis- 
trates. In  London  the  magistrates  do  their  duty ; in  the 
country  the  magistrates  neglect  their  duty.  This  is 
additionally  strengthened  by  the  fact,  that  in  London 
public  opinion  is  omnipotent,  and  there  is  a powerful 
press  which  depends  upon  no  one  ; and  this  is,  there- 
fore, wholly  free ; whereas,  in  the  country,  the  only 
press  that  does  exist  is  a sort  of  bastard  and  depend- 
ent press,  which  has  for  its  subscribers  and  supporters 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  249 


the  magistrates,  who  throughout  the  country  are  the 
chief  persons  violating  the  law.  The  consequence 
is,  that  when  any  case  is  known  of  a child  climbing 
in  a magistrate’s  mansion,  the  press  does  not  court  an 
exposure  of  the  cruelty,  because  that  magistrate  is  one 
of  the  chief  subscribers  and  supporters  of  the  paper. 

“ What  was  the  case  at  Leeds  ? — That  was  not  my 
case,  but  I was  a witness  to  it.  It  was  a case  in  con- 
sequence of  a boy  being  admitted  into  a boiler  flue ; 
they  dismissed  it,  considering  that  the  flue  did  not 
commence  until  it  had  got  through  the  bed  of  the 
boiler. 

“ Do  you  know  any  instance  in  which  a child  has 
been  kidnapped  for  the  purpose  of  being  devoted  to 
this  employment  ? — I have  one  on  record  in  my  pock- 
et, that  I took  from  the  Stamford  Mercury. 

“ What  effect  do  you  think  it  would  have  had  if  the 
magistrates  generally  had  set  the  example  of  obeying 
the  law,  instead  of  breaking  it  ? — It  would  have  had 
great  influence  — no  doubt  of  it. 

u Do  you  mean  to  say  that  the  magistrates  generally 
have  set  the  example  of  breaking  the  law  ? — Yes,  I 
do  ; because  they  allow  children  to  sweep  their  chim- 
neys, and  they  do  very  little  to  protect  them. 

“ Can  you  state  the  earliest  age  at  which  you  have 
known  this  disease  to  come  on  from  this  cause  ? — In 
order  to  be  able  to  give  you  the  best  evidence,  I in- 
quired of  my  nine  colleagues  at  the  Court  of  Examin- 
ers of  the  College  of  Surgeons  upon  this  subject,  and 
ascertained  that  the  earliest  age  at  which  any  of  them 


250  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

had  seen  the  disease,  was  in  a child  of  eight  years 
old  ; it  usually  appears  about  twelve  or  fourteen,  and 
at  any  after  period  of  life.  It  may  be  removed  in  the 
first  instance  by  operation,  and  the  patient  may  get 
well ; but  the  disease  is  very  apt  to  return,  and  if  it 
does,  it  usually  destroys  life  ; it  is  an  awful  complaint, 
to  which  children  should  not  be  exposed,  if  it  can  be 
avoided. 

“ Have  you  seen  many  instances  of  chimney  sweep- 
er’s cancer  ? — Not  many  ; I have  seen  some. 

“ Were  those  which  you  have  seen  in  children  or  in 
adults  ? — Generally  in  young  men. 

“ Of  what  age  ? — Nineteen  or  twenty ; I have  sel- 
dom seen  it  in  children.  I should  state  that  I have 
been  very  much  connected  with  hospital  practice,  and 
the  in-patients  of  a hospital  generally  must  possess  a 
degree  of  comfort  which  is  beyond  the  reach  of  poor 
chimney  sweepers  ; they  seldom  attain  the  degree  of 
comfort  that  entitles  them  to  go  into  a hospital ; the 
going  into  a hospital  implies  that  the  person  has  de- 
cent external  covering,  and  one  or  two  changes  of 
linen.  Therefore  these  poor  children  are  more  often 
to  be  met  with  in  the  infirmaries  of  workhouses,  and 
in  the  wretched  abodes  attended  by  dispensary 
surgeons. 

u Generally  speaking,  are  you  of  opinion  that  the 
poverty  of  the  sufferers  presents  many  instances  of 
this  disease  being  known  in  hospitals  ? — Yes  ; I think 
a great  deal  more  of  them  is  known  among  parish 
surgeons. 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS. 


251 


“ Do  you  know  of  any  cases  of  children  having  been 
roasted  to  death  in  the  business?  — I know  of  two 
cases ; I witnessed  one  : two  chimneys  went  into  one  ; 
near  the  top  it  was  one  chimney,  and  below  two ; it 
was  forked  a few  yards  from  the  top ; the  poor  fellow 
I went  up  one  of  the  chimneys,  and  when  he  had  got 
near  the  top  of  that  chimney,  some  of  the  soot  of  this 
chimney  fell  into  the  chimney  in  which  there  was  a 
fire ; the  flames  went  up  like  gunpowder,  I suppose, 
and  the  poor  boy  came  tumbling  down  the  one  where 
there  was  a fire,  and  was  burned  to  death. 

66  What  was  the  other  case  ? — The  other  case  was  at 
a factory  near  Mr.  Houldsworth’s ; the  boy  was  clean- 
ing a boiler  flue  ; I was  foreman  of  the  jury,  so  that 
I am  acquainted  with  all  the  particulars  of  that  case. 
The  boy  went  into  the  flue,  but  after  going  up  a short 
way,  he  returned  and  said,  ‘ Master,  it  is  very  hot;  I 
cannot  bear  it.’  The  master  said, 6 O thou  little  rascal, 
thou  art  larking,’  or  something  of  that  kind,  and  he 
drove  him  up  by  force,  and  said  that  if  he  came  back 
again  he  would  give  him  a severe  punishment.  He 
did  not  come  out  again  alive.  This  boy’s  name  was 
| William  Wall. 

“ It  was  after  that  that  the  magistrate  made  the  ob- 
servation, that  the  magistrates  were  most  unwilling  to 
convict  in  those  cases  ? — Yes ; and  it  is  not  at  all 
denied.”  \ 

At  this  very  hour,  or  until  very  lately,  there  was  a 
poor  child  condemned  to  the  slavery  of  sweeping  chim- 
neys in  defiance  of  the  law,  at  Scarborough,  whose 


252  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

• 

father  was,  and  in  all  probability  still  is,  a dissenting 
minister  preaching  in  that  town.  Some  benevolent 
person,  having  found  out  the  child,  offered  to  teach 
him  to  read  ; to  this  his  father  objected,  on  the  ground 
that  if  the  child  were  taught  to  read,  he  would  no 
longer  work  at  his  business  as  a climbing  boy. 

The  Earl  of  Shaftesbury,  in  introducing  the  Chim- 
ney Sweepers’  Amendment  bill,  in  the  session  of 
1854,  (see  Times , April  5,  1854,)  detailed  to  the 
House  of  Lords  this  most  horrid  case,  in  which  a mas- 
ter sweep  at  Nottingham  had  forced  his  climbing  boy, 
James  Hart,  five  years  old,  up  a chimney,  by  the  inhu- 
man stimulus  of  lighting  a fire  under  him  in  his  own 
house ; and  when  this  barbarity  failed  of  compelling 
the  poor  infant  to  climb  the  flue,  the  master  (it  being 
in  the  depth  of  winter)  plunged  the  child  into  a large 
butt  full  of  water  in  the  yard,  with  threats  of  murder. 
Owing  to  the  child’s  total  ignorance  of  religious  be- 
lief, his  evidence  had  been  necessarily  excluded  by 
the  magistrates,  although  the  burns  upon  his  person 
and  the  testimony  of  the  surgeon  fully  bore  out  his 
statement. 

The  master  had  also  beaten  the  child  with  great 
cruelty,  and  for  this  assault  was  imprisoned  for  six 
months. 

Mr.  Reckless,  the  mayor  of  Nottingham,  appeared 
to  have  taken  up  the  case  with  the  most  praiseworthy 
vigor.  He  said,  “ I saw  the  boy,  and  a more  pitiable 
object  I never  saw.” 

William  Phillimore  Stiff’,  being  sworn,  said,  “ I am 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  253 

one  of  the  medical  officers  of  the  Nottingham  Union. 
On  the  21st  November  inst.,  I saw  the  boy  James  Hart, 
at  his  mother’s  house,  in  Sandy  Land,  in  Nottingham. 
He  was  in  a most  deplorable  state.  He  had  ulcers  on 
his  elbows,  both  his  knees,  back,  fingers,  toes,  instep, 
and  other  parts  of  his  body ; swelling  at  the  back  of 
his  head  ; ulcers  arising  from  burns,  which  appeared 
to  have  been  produced  by  putting  him  up  a hot  chim- 
ney.  Those  burns  must  have  been  done  more  than 
four  or  five  days.  He  had  scratches  on  his  back,  and 
contusions  on  his  head,  produced  by  blows.”  Sworn 
at  Nottingham,  25th  November,  1853. 

Another  witness,  speaking  of  the  boy,  said,  “ His 
shirt  appeared  to  be  dipped  in  blood.” 

Lord  Shaftesbury  went  on  to  say,  “ There  was  a 
great  deal  of  professed  zeal  for  the  inculcation  of  reli- 
gion and  the  education  of  the  people;  but  this  system 
was  as  destructive  to  the  soul  as  to  the  body.  He  had 
caused  an  inquiry  to  be  made,  and  it  was  found  that 
among  four  hundred  and  eighty-two  boys,  in  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy  different  places,  there  were  only 
twenty-one  who  were  acquainted  with  the  common 
rudiments  of  reading,  and  only  two  acquainted  with 
the  common  rudiments  of  writing.  No  less  than  four 
thousand  children  of  tender  years  were  still  consigned 
to  this  disgusting  and  unnecessary  employment.” 

This  evidence  from  a few  witnesses  gives  but  an 
idea  of  the  great  institution  of  chummy  ism.  It  has 
happened  more  than  once  that  when  the  men  hung  on 
to  a child’s  legs,  to  pull  him  out  of  the  place  where  he 


254  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

was  stuck  fast,  lliey  dragged  the  body  out,  leaving  the 
head  in  the  chimney.  This  is  a fact  not  elicited  in 
the  above  evidence. 

Apropos  of  this  subject,  we  may  take  the  following 
account  of  a boy,  u Devildust,”  from  D’lsraeli’s  Sibyl, 
or  the  two  Nations  : — 

“ About  a fortnight  after  his  mother  had  introduced 
him  into  the  world,  she  returned  to  her  factory, 
and  put  her  infant  out  to  nurse  — that  is  to  say, 
paid  threepence  a week  to  an  old  woman,  who  takes 
charge  of  these  new-born  babes  for  the  day,  and  gives 
them  back  at  night  to  their  mothers,  as  they  hurriedly 
return  from  the  scene  of  their  labor  to  the  dungeon  or 
the  den,  which  is  still  by  courtesy  called  4 home.’  The 
expense  is  not  great;  laudanum  and  treacle,  adminis- 
tered in  the  shape  of  some  popular  elixir,  affords  these 
innocents  a brief  taste  of  the  sweets  of  existence,  and, 
keeping  them  quiet,  prepares  them  for  the  silence 
of  their  impending  grave.  Infanticide  is  practised  as 
extensively  and  as  legally  in  England  as  it  is  on  the 
banks  of  the  Ganges  — a circumstance  which  apparent- 
ly has  not  yet  engaged  the  attention  of  the  Society 
for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts. 
But  the  vital  principle  is  an  impulse  from  an  immortal 
artist,  and  sometimes  baffles,  even  in  its  tenderest 
phasis,  the  machinations  of  society  for  its  extinction. 
There  are  infants  that  will  defy  even  starvation  and 
poison,  unnatural  mothers,  and  demon  nurses.  Such 
was  the  nameless  one  of  whom  we  speak.  We  can- 
not say  he  thrived  ; but  he  would  not  die.  So,  at  two 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  255 

years  of  age,  his  mother  being  lost  sight  of,  and  the 
weekly  payment  having  ceased,  he  was  sent  out  in  the 
street  to  4 play,’  in  order  to  be  run  over.  Even  this 
expedient  failed.  The  youngest  and  the  feeblest  of 
the  band  of  victims,  Juggernaut  spared  him  to  Mo- 
loch. All  his  companions  were  disposed  of.  Three 
months’  4 play  ’ in  the  streets  got  rid  of  this  tender 
company,  — shoeless,  half  naked,  and  uncombed,  — 
whose  age  varied  from  two  to  five  years.  Some  were 
crushed,  some  were  lost,  some  caught  cold  and  fevers, 
crept  back  to  their  garret  or  their  cellars,  were  dosed 
with  Godfrey’s  cordial,  and  died  in  peace.  The 
nameless  one  would  not  disappear.  He  always  got 
out  of  the  way  of  the  carts  and  horses,  and  never  lost 
his  own.  They  gave  him  no  food : he  foraged  for 
himself,  and  shared  with  the  dogs  the  garbage  of  the 
streets.  But  still  he  lived ; stunted  and  pale,  he  de- 
fied even  the  fatal  fever  which  was  the  only  hab- 
itant of  his  cellar  that  never  quitted  it.  And,  slum- 
bering at  night  on  a bed  of  mouldering  straw,  his 
only  protection  against  the  plashy  surface  of  his  den, 
with  a dungheap  at  his  head,  and  a cesspool  at  his 
feet,  he  still  clung  to  the  only  roof  which  shielded  him 
from  the  tempest.” 

Human  suffering  excites  no  English  sympathy,  un- 
less it  appear  in  a black  envelope.  But  as  the  black- 
ness of  the  sooty  English  is  only  artificial,  though  the 
agony  is  real,  English  sympathy  hath  no  tears  to 
spare  for  it.  On  the  contrary,  when  a few  good-heart- 
ed gentlemen  push  through  the  House  a bill  for  the 


256  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

relief  of  the  home  black  slaves,  the  English  public 
combine  to  render  ihe  law  null  and  void. 

Apologists  of  England  declare  that  the  abuses  of 
society  result  from  the  system  of  government,  not  from 
the  wickedness  of  the  people.  That  the  constitution 
is  a sham,  and  the  system  a curse,  no  one  but  the  mo- 
nopolist of  plunder  can  deny ; but  it  is  also  self-evi- 
dent that  if  the  Saxonized  people  of  England  were 
lovers  of  justice  and  mercy,  and  haters  of  iniquity, 
they  would  not  tolerate  their  system  of  government, 
much  less  force  it  upon  the  Irish. 

It  is  hard  to  say  whether  the  British  mob  or  the 
British  legislature  is  most  inhuman.  A good  move 
on  the  part  of  one  is  sure  to  be  counteracted  by  the 
other.  They  are  unanimous  only  in  robbing  and  ex- 
terminating less  powerful  nations.  Whether  it  be 
mob  law  or  lord  law,  England  is  a well-spring  of  cru- 
elty and  injustice.  Look  at  the  chummies  in  the 
flues,  and  the  little  slaves  in  the  factories. 

The  Saxon  instinct  develops  itself  in  the  English 
school  of  political  economy.  This  is  emphatically  the 
science  of  selfishness . It  holds  that  this  selfishness, 
however,  works  for  the  creation  of  capital  and  the 
“ consequent”  benefit  of  society. 

Flesh  and  blood  is  under  “ the  inexorable  law  of 
supply  and  demand.”  The  over-wrought  supply  and 
the  starving  surplus  must  take  the  consequences. 

The  English  State  Bishop,  Whately,  is  the  high 
priest  of  this  pagan  doctrine,  that  grinds  the  faces  of 
the  poor  — women  and  children. 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS. 


257 


The  Whately  doctrine  is  an  elaborate  lie,  but  it  is 
only  the  practical  expression  of  the  cold-blooded,  ra- 
tionalistic, infanticidal  instinct  of  the  Gothic  race. 

There  are  many  virtuous  homes  in  England,  but  I 
should  be  guilty  of  indirect  falsehood  and  cowardly 
forbearance  were  I to  speak  mildly  or  respectfully  of 
the  standard  English  views  in  regard  to  woman.  I 
say  that  the  state  bishops  and  clergy,  and  legislators, 
and  English  writers  and  orators,  generally,  are  animat- 
ed by  sensuality.  They  cannot  bear  to  see  beautiful 
young  virgins  devoted  to  chastity  and  to  God’s  poor. 
It  is  a reproach  upon  themselves.  They  say  it  is 
against  the  law  of  nature  and  the  law  of  God,  which 
commands  us  to  multiply  and  replenish  the  earth  ; but 
these  same  hypocrites  do  not  scruple  to  separate  the 
husband  from  his  lawful  wife  and  children,  if  they 
are  poor.  These  same  hypocrites  cannot  afford  to  let 
their  soldiers  marry ; but  it  is  cheaper  to  loosen  them 
upon  the  towns,  and  let  them  prostitute  all  within 
their  reach.  In  times  of  peace  the  English  officers  do 
nothing  but  gamble  and  feast,  and  debauch  the  wives 
and  daughters  of  the  citizens.  But  the  Bible  Phari- 
sees of  Exeter  Hall  dare  not  for  their  lives  notice  these 
enormities. 

The  command  to  increase  and  multiply  is  only  held 
applicable  to  the  nuns  and  priests,  and  the  class  who 
are  able  to  pay  rents,  rates,  tithes,  and  taxes.  But 
poor  people  have  no  right  to  increase,  unless  there 
should  be  a demand  for  them.  The  spirit  of  English 
social  and  political  action  is  the  law  of  supply  and 

22* 


258  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

demand.  If  hands  arc  scarce,  then  multiply  and 
replenish  the  labor  market.  But  if  it  should  be  dis- 
covered that  bullocks  and  sheep  arc  more  profitable 
than  peasantry,  then  the  surplus  population  is  cleared 
out,  and  killed  off,  by  an  ingenious  process,  which 
makes  it  appear  that  the  wretches  died  of  their  own 
accord,  or  “ by  the  visitation  of  God.”  The  bread  is 
taken  out  of  their  mouths,  and  the  means  of  labor  out 
of  their  hands,  and  then  it  is  said  they  die  from  their 
inherent  laziness  and  want  of  foresight,  and  because 
they  married  improvidently. 

But  when  priests  and  nuns  are  mentioned,  then  the 
gospelers  remind  us  of  what  God  said  at  the  creation, 
“ Increase  and  multiply,  and  replenish  the  earth.” 
( Gen.  i.) 

The  hereditary  disposition  of  the  English  upper 
class  to  brutify  the  English  lower  class,  and  to  treat 
them  like  cattle,  is  forcibly  manifested  in  the  pet  doc- 
trine of  English  political  economy,  called  the  Malthu- 
sian doctrine.  This  gospel  of  English  legislation  for 
the  poor  receives  its  name  from  an  English  state 
churchman,  called  Malthus.  This  inhuman  infidel  — 
this  wolf  in  the  garb  of  the  Good  Shepherd  — attempt- 
ed to  prove,  if  the  natural  increase  of  the  popula- 
tion were  not  checked,  that  the  world  would  soon  be 
unable  to  sustain  its  inhabitants.  This  blasphemous 
lie  against  God’s  providence  was  eagerly  taken  up,  and 
has  been  to  the  present  day  practically  advocated  by 
Protestant  Anglo-Saxon  archbishops,  as  well  as  by 
exterminating  lords. 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  259 

The  men  who  robbed  the  poor  of  their  glebe  lands 
now  hate  the  sight  of  the  poor,  and  in  order  to  kill  off 
the  surplus , and  prevent  increase,  the  laws  of  God  and 
nature  are  violated. 

The  clergy  of  the  state  church  who  break  their  vows 
of  chastity,  and  raise  families  on  the  stolen  goods  of 
the  widow  and  orphan, — these  men  who  put  no  re- 
straint upon  their  own  passions,  but  who  denounce 
voluntary  celibacy  of  clergy  as  anathema,  — do  force 
the  poor  to  live  in  a state  of  criminal  celibacy. 

In  order  to  diminish  poor  rates,  a bill  was  brought 
in  by  Mr.  Scarlett  to  prevent  the  poor  from  marrying. 
The  base  proposal  of  such  a bill,  and  its  solemn  discus- 
sion in  the  House,  prove  that  the  low  English  are  con- 
sidered as  mere  cattle,  without  a will  even  in  the  most 
tender  and  sacred  institution  of  society.  It  is  certain- 
ly a fact  that  the  state  bishops  have  larger  incomes 
than  Christ  and  his  apostles ; but  modern  civilization 
has  rendered  it  necessary  to  support  the  church  respect- 
ably ; and  the  increasing  families  of  lordly  bishops 
cannot  be  maintained  in  a manner  suitable  to  their 
rank , if  the  increase  of  the  turbulent  rabble  is  not 
checked,  and  poor  rates  diminished.  As  bishops  are 
no  longer  shepherds,  so  the  poor  are  no  longer  God’s 
heirs  ; they  are  now  “ the  turbulent  rabble,”  “ the  igno- 
rant mob.” 

Paupers  must  be  diminished,  and  the  breed  of  cattle 
improved,  by  the  new  gospel  dispensation. 

The  inferiority  of  the  Celtic  race  formed  an  excel- 
lent text  in  Ireland  and  the  Highlands.  In  England, 


260  CONDITION  OP  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

where  the  same  holy  plea  could  not  maintain,  the 
political  economy  of  Parson  Malthus  and  Archbishop 
Whately  is  enacted  in  its  naked  hideousness. 

Smith  O’Brien  (Principles  of  Government)  says, 
“ It  is  the  fashion  of  late , in  England,  to  treat  poverty 
as  a crime,  and  to  visit  it  with  penalties  nearly  as  se- 
vere as  those  which  are  inflicted  upon  guilt.”  There 
are  two  errors  in  this  statement  of  a well-known  truth. 
First.  It  is  not  of  late , that  poverty  has  been  treated 
as  a crime  in  England.  The  poor  were  never  above  a 
state  o*f  cruel  bondage  in  England.  The  efforts  of  the 
Catholic  church  to  relieve  the  mass  of  misery  in 
“ Merrie  England  ” only  proved  the  despotic  rule. 
Secondly.  The  penalties  of  poverty  are  more  severe 
than  the  punishments  of  guilt,  because  the  people  are 
systematically  robbed  and  hopelessly  crushed  down 
into  poverty. 

The  philosophy  of  England  is,  that  work  and  the 
production  of  wealth  is  the  true  gospel  ;J;he  ivork  and 
the  economy  being  reserved  for  the  poor,  idleness  and 
extravagance  for  the  rich. 

It  is  said  that  the  working  classes  ought  to  save 
enough  to  guard  them  against  the  misfortunes  of  sick- 
ness, &c.,  and  the  decline  of  old  age.  Most  of  them 
do  so,  when  they  are  able.  Witness  the  savings  of  the 
Irish  girls  and  laborers  in  the  United  States.  At  the 
same  time  these  hard-working  people  can  relieve  their 
friends  still  groaning  under  Victoria,  and  they  can 
build  churches,  colleges,  and  schools  for  themselves, 
and  support  numerous  charities.  The  lazy  and  thiev- 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  261 


ing  aristocracy  of  England  need  not  affect  to  lament 
over  the  improvidence  of  the  working  classes.  Are 
they  not  working  classes.  And  if  these  working 
classes  had  the  power,  would  they  not  retain  at  least 
enough  of  the  fruits  of  their  labor  to  keep  them- 
selves and  their  children  after  them  in  comfort  ? The 
working  classes  in  England  are  robbed  by  the  swin- 
dling and  violence  of  the  army,  state,  and  state  church, 
and  all  the  monopolies  of  these  men  who  lecture  to 
them  about  economy . 

The  remarks  of  Smith  O’Brien  on  this  subject  are 
pertinent.  He  says,  “ How  unreasonable,  then,  is  it 
to  suppose  that  the  working  classes  ought  to  forego 
all  the  affections  and  all  the  enjoyments  of  life,  in 
order  that  they  may  guarantee  themselves  against 
that  dependence  which  is,  as  it  were,  forced  upon  them 
by  the  artificial  condition  of  society  in  which  they 
live ! But  even  if  we  were  to  admit  that  the  father 
of  a family  is  to  blame  for  not  having  made  an  ade- 
quate provision  for  his  children,  it  surely  does  not  fol- 
low that  those  children  ought  to  be  treated  as  crimi- 
nals on  account  of  such  his  neglect.  Perhaps  his  wife 
may  have  daily  remonstrated  with  him  for  spending  at 
the  alehouse  the  pittance  which  would  have  formed 
the  basis  of  such  a provision.  Does  she  deserve  to  be 
treated  as  a criminal  at  his  death,  because  she  is  left 
destitute  as  a widow  ? No  ! the  voice  of  nature  and 
the  teachings  of  Christianity  alike  repudiate  this  doc- 
trine. Away,  then,  with  the  speculations  of  a false 
philosophy ; away  with  the  miserable  selfishness  of  a 


262  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

false  economy.  The  orphan  is  the  child  of  the  state. 
The  aged  laborer,  worn  out  with  the  toil  which  his 
industry  has  given  to  society,  must  no  longer  be 
spurned  as  an  intruder  into  the  social  system.  If  a 
state  provision  for  the  poor  be  established,  let  it  be 
administered  in  the  spirit  of  Heaven-blessed  charity, 
not  as  a mere  regulation  of  police.”  ( Principles  of 
Government .) 

The  great  efforts  of  all  English  reformers,  pious 
preachers,  political  economists,  noble  and  scientific 
lecturers,  &c.,  are  directed  to  the  instruction  of  the 
lower  orders  in  economy,  the  blessings  of  industry. 
In  other  words,  the  idle  talkers  wish  to  get  the  greatest 
amount  of  work  out  of  the  people,  with  the  least 
amount  of  duty  or  responsibility  on  the  part  of  those 
who  seize  the  fruit.  The  prevailing  ideas  in  English 
aristocratic  circles  are,  that,  as  regards  government 
legislation  and  the  distribution  and  management  of 
national  wealth,  the  vulgar  masses  are  totally  incom- 
petent, but  that  the  happiness  of  the  people  must  de- 
pend upon  self-reliance.  This  is  a leading  idea  put 
forth,  when  the  monopolists  are  called  upon  to  dis- 
gorge ptart  of  the  plunder  for  the  benefit  of  widows 
and  orphans.  Self-reliance  for  the  orphan ! “ More 

than  likely  the  father  was  intemperate  and  improvi- 
dent,” and  therefore  the  orphan  must  starve,  or  sub- 
mit to  the  cruel  slavery  and  degradation  of  the  poor- 
house  bastiles.  “ To  treat  poverty  with  kindness  is 
only  to  encourage  it,”  These  are  the  English  ideas  of 
this  glorious  nineteenth  century. 


THE  CELTIC ? GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  263 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

MORMONISM,  INFANTICIDE,  AND  OTHER  ENGLISH 
TRAITS.  RETROSPECT  OF  ENGLISH  HISTORY. 

It  is  a law  in  nature,  and  a Christian  consequence, 
that  the  purest  women  have  the  tenderest  and  deepest 
affection  for  children.  “ The  heathen  hath  no  natural 
affection.”  The  heart  of  a sensualist  is  devoid  of  love. 
It  is  a corrupted,  deadened  piece  of  flesh,  a mere 
mechanism  to  sustain  animal  life.  An  innocent  girl 
is  full  of  true  love  and  sympathy  ; her  pure  heart  over- 
flows with  delight  in  children.  It  is  not  alone  the 
stern  duty  that  devotes  the  nun  to  the  life-long  service 
of  homeless  orphans;  her  affections  become  centred 
in  the  little  innocents  that  she  cherishes  with  a fond- 
ness unknown  to  the  sensual  mothers  of  a corrupt 
society.  Under  heaven  there  is  not  a more  sublime 
spectacle  than  that  of  a beautiful  girl  devoting  her 
youth,  her  affections,  her  talents,  and  her  fortune,  to 
the  service  of  God,  making  herself  a drudge  and  nurse 
to  the  poor  afflicted,  and  a mother  to  the  motherless. 

There  are  many  beautiful,  good,  and  true  English- 
women, but  Celtic  Catholic  nuns  are  hated  because 
their  noble  self-denial  is  a reproach  upon  the  woman- 
hood of  England.  When  an  English  woman  remote- 

* 

ly  imitates  the  sister  of  charity  — when  Miss  Nightin- 


264  CONDITION  OP  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

^ • l 

gale  ( rara  avis)  comes  out,  she  is  lauded  to  the  skies 
for  virtues  which  are  exercised  in  a tenfold  higher  de- 
gree by  nuns  who  neither  desire  nor  expect  reward. 

The  English  can  respect  virtue  when  it  occurs 
among  themselves.  There  is  also  a large  amount  of 
charity  in  England.  I believe  that  in  no  other  coun- 
try is  there  such  a multiplicity  of  institutions  for  de- 
cayed old  gentlemen,  decrepit  sailors,  maimed  soldiers, 
superannuated  spinsters,  and  desolate  old  widows. 
Those  institutions  are  dying  out  since  the  new  poor 
law  came  in  force.  Now  those  public  establish- 
ments are  filled  with  the  aged.  The  meaning  of  all 
this  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact,  that  decrepit  old  people 
in  England  and  Lowland  Scotland  are  generally  re- 
fused aid,  and  are  driven  out  by  their  relatives.  In 
the  administration  of  the  English  poor  law,  cases  are 
constantly  coming  up  of  children’s,  or  brothers’,  or  sis- 
ters refusal  to  support  their  aged  relatives. 

There  are  very  few  establishments  for  the  aged  in 
Ireland,  because  the  Irish  make  it  a duty  to  cherish 
their  helpless  relatives.  During  the  last  seven  years, 
the  working  Irish  of  those  states  sent  home  over  fifty 
millions  of  dollars , exclusive  of  the  tickets  paid  for  the 
passage  of  their  friends.  Most  of  this  money  was 
transmitted  by  Irish  servant  girls.  God  bless  them.  ^ 
Such  are  the  “low”  Irish,  in  contrast  with  the  An- 

. i \ 

glo-Saxon  women,  “the  great,  pious,  and  glorious 
Saxons.”  I ^ 

The  Celts  can  boast  of  nothing  more  glorious  than  j 
this,  that  their  race  has  held  fast  to  a self-denying 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  265 

faith,  and  that  their  wealthiest  virgins  devote  their 
youth  and  fortune  to  the  service  of  good  works  — 
worldly  joy  giving  way  to  fasting,  and  prayer,  and 
alms-deeds. 

The  Anglo-Saxon  race  is  marked  by  nothing  more 
disgraceful  than  their  want  of  faith  in  woman’s  puri- 
ty. The  English  of  Gothic  blood,  and  the  Orange- 
Irish  of  Dutch  and  Saxon  descent,  are  ever  ready  (be- 
cause they  cannot  believe  chastity  possible)  to  bum 
out  nuns. 

English  gentlemen  earnestly  maintain  that  priests 
and  nuns  are  hidden  profligates.  The  Gothic  race, 
speaking  from  their  own  experience  and  their  own 
instincts,  in  Sweden,  North  Germany,  and  England, 
sincerely  believe  that  continency  is  against  nature, 
and  that  perpetual  chastity  is  impossible.  This  doc- 
trine is  propounded  in  English  pulpits  and  on  English 
platforms. 

It  is  an  historical  fact  that  the  English  lords  and 
gentlemen,  in  Parliament  assembled,  have  repeatedly 
slandered  the  nuns  — that  is,  the  daughters  and  sis- 
ters of  their  fellow-countrymen. 

The  reason  that  English  gentlemen  have  such  an 
implacable  hatred  of  nuns  is,  that  these  ladies  teach 
chastity  to  poor  girls.  For  proof  of  this  I have  only 
to  refer  to  the  English  workhouses,  mills,  &c.,  which 
were  converted  into  vast  harems  for  the  guardians  and 
owners,  and  their  friends  and  subordinates.  See  the 
horrible  revelations  of  the  parliamentary  committee  in 
1832.  “ From  these  inquiries,  it  appeared  that  very 

23 


283  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

disgusting  atrocities  were  perpetrated  in  factories.” 
(See  Wades'  History  of  the  Middle  and  Working 
Classes , p.  59.) 

The  same  distinguished  writer  quotes  the  cruel  and 
inhuman  treatment  to  which  the  women,  and  children 
under  nine  years  of  age,  were  subjected.  The  wretches 
were  obliged  to  work  night  and  day.  They  were  dy- 
ing like  rotten  sheep,  until  even  the  British  Parliament 
took  pity  on  them,  and  gave  them  at  least  an  appear- 
ance of  protection. 

Englishmen,  who  have  in  their  veins  the  blood  of 
the  most  savage  race  in  North  Europe,  have  always 
inclined  to  enslave  and  dishonor  the  female  character. 

There  are  virtuous  families  in  England,  but  want 
of  faith  in  woman’s  honesty  is  peculiarly  Anglo-Sax- 
on. We  see  this  manifested  among  them  on  all  pri- 
vate and  public  occasions  when  the  subject  is  brought 
up.  If  the  Saxon  race  were  not  stupid,  as  well  as 
wicked,  they  would  see  that  their  doctrine  supplies  a 
terrible  commentary  upon  themselves. 

An  evangelical  John  Bull,  in  a large  company  of 
gentlemen,  took  occasion  (because  there  was  a poor 
priest  present)  to  launch  into  the  abominations  of  nun- 
neries, and  the  hypocrisy  of  the  Romish  clergy.  He 
declared,  in  the  usual  strain,  that  continency  was 
against  nature  and  impossible,  and  that  no  woman 
could  resist  temptation.  The  priest  merely  asked  him 
if  he  remembered  his  own  mother,  or  wife,  or  sister. 
John  Bull  gaped,  and  then  shut  up  his  face  for  the  rest 

V 

of  the  evening. 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  267 


No  doubt  I shall  be  called  a partisan,  a false  wit- 
ness, and  a base  slanderer  of  English  women.  Sax- 
ons who  pay  no  regard  to  virtue  but  the  homage  of 
hypocrisy,  will  defend  the  honor  of  their  race,  just  as 
a blackguard  bully  will  knock  a man  down  for  calling 
a prostitute  by  her  right  name.  But  I demand  no 
other  evidence  than  the  public  testimony  of  these  Sax- 
ons themselves.  Popular  expressions  are  the  natural, 
spontaneous,  and  sure  indications  of  national  char- 
acter. 

Irishmen  swear  by  J— — , by  the  Book , by  Holy  Mo- 
ses, &c.,  because  they  believe  in  these.  The  Saxon- 

ized  rowdies  of  America  call  each  other  b es  and 

sons  of  b — — es.  Such  expressions  are  in  daily  and 
hourly  use  wherever  Saxon  blood  is  to  be  found  ; they 
are  fearfully  significant,  and  any  thing  but  compliment- 
ary to  their  own  mothers;  but  Anglo-Saxons  ought 
to  know  what  names  befit  themselves.  As  to  the 
English  gentlemen,  I do  not  belie  them  when  I say 
that  their  private  social  conversations  are  the  most  an- 
imalized  in  the  world;  good-eating,  and  fine  women, 
and  dogs,  and  fast  horses,  being  put  in  the  same  cate- 
gory as  mere  slaves  of  pleasure.  I admit,  however, 
that  the  stomach  is  the  most  invariable  English  topic. 

Contempt  for  the  blessed  Virgin  is  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  features  in  English  religionism.  While 
the  Irish  almost  worship  the  pure  Queen  of  Heaven, 
Tower  of  Ivory,  Morning  Star,  Help  of  the  Weak,  the 
English  have  gone  so  far  in  their  hatred  as  to  corrupt 
the  sacred  text,  and  make  our  Saviour  offer  his  mother 


2G8  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


an  insult  at  the  marriage  of  Cana  of  Galilee.  The 
fierce  malignity  of  Exeter  Hall  and  the  English  mob 
never  mounts  into  madness  until  you  mention  mon- 
asteries, nunneries,  and  the  vow  of  perpetual  chastity. 

The  Anglo-Saxon  mind  cannot  realize  the  idea  of 
purity,  no  more  than  it  can  imagine  how  any  man  can 
thrive  without  pork,  or  beef,  and  ale. 

English  gentlemen  pay  every  respect  and  deference 
to  ladies , but  not  to  women . 

I will  venture  to  say  that  in  the  wide  world  there  is 
not  such  a mean,  money-hunting  class  as  the  young 
English  gentlemen  ; they  will  toady  and  court  age, 
ugliness,  or  vice  itself,  if  accompanied  with  a large 
purse.  A poor  girl,  however  beautiful,  accomplished, 
or  virtuous,  is  held  in  the  utmost  contempt.  English 
noblemen  and  gentlemen  pay  great  attentions  to  such 
fine  girls,  it  is  true,  but  only  for  the  purpose  of  acting 
the  part  of  perjurer  and  scoundrel.  Any  thing  is  tol- 
erated by  English  society  but  marriage  with  poor 
people.  This  is  considered  disgraceful.  In  the  few 
rare  cases  where  English  aristocrats  or  gentlemen 
marry  humble  girls,  they  thereby  become  outcasts  ; as 
their  wives  are  not  admitted  into  the  society  of  born 
ladies. 

We  can  imagine  the  disgust  that  the  English  felt 
when  the  French  emperor  espoused  the  beautiful  ple- 
beian Eugenie. 

Populations  are  debased  in  exact  proportion  as  they 
are  contaminated  with  Saxon,  Danish,  or  Swedish 
blood.  In  Britain  and  America  we  find  a class  of 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  269 

Saxonized  women  who  are  sensual  slaves  to  brutal 
men  and  unnatural  exterminators  of  their  own  off- 
spring. The  debasement  of  so  many  British  and 
American  mothers  is  not  proof  that  the  race  at  large 
is  Gothic.  It  is  only  evidence  that  Anglo-Saxon 
blood  is  not  yet  extinct,  and  that  one  diseased  sheep 
can  infect  a flock. 

How  is  it  that  Protestant  Highland  or  Welsh  moth- 
ers do  not  habitually  neglect  and  even  murder  their 
infants  ? How  is  it  that  Protestant  Frenchmen,  and 
other  Protestant  Celts,  do  not  make  a practice  of 
dancing  on  their  wives  ? 

The  contrast  of  the  Celtic  and  Saxon  woman  arises 
not  from  any  variety  of  gospel  readings,  but  from  dis- 
tinction of  blood. 

Why  is  it  that  the  Presbyterian  Highland  girl  is 
such  a superior  being  to  the  lumpish  Lowland  lass, 
who  has  equal  access  to  her  Bible  ? 

Bastardy  in  the  Lowlands  was  as  notorious  and  free 
from  blame,  as  the  traffic  on  the  Clyde  River.  Within 
the  last  fifty  years  Glasgow  has  been  raised  up,  and 
filled  with  Highland  and  Irish  immigration,  and  there  is 
great  improvement.  But  a century  and  a half  ago, 
when  the  population  of  the  Lowlands  was  more  Sax- 
onized, the  condition  of  the  country  was  truly  savage. 
In  an  impartial  work,  The  Annals  of  Glasgow, 
written  by  a Scotchman,  wre  are  told  that  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  last  century,  while  the  population  of 
Scotland  hardly  exceeded  a million,  two  hundred 
thousand  people  lived  by  begging  and  thieving. 

23* 


270  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

“ They  have  lived,”  say  the  Annals,  66  without  any  re- 
gard or  submission  either  to  the  laws  of  the  land,  or 
even  those  of  God  and  nature — fathers  incestuously 
accompanying  their  own  daughters,  the  son  with  the 
mother,  and  the  brother  with  the  sister ; many  mur- 
ders have  been  discovered  among  them.”  “ At  coun- 
try weddings,  markets,  burials,  and  other  like  public 
occasions,  they  are  to  be  seen,  both  men  and  women, 
perpetually  drunk,  cursing,  blaspheming,  and  fighting 
together.”  This  is  the  Scotchman’s  account  of  his 
own  Bible-reading  country.  The  free  Bible  reading 
was  not  to  blame,  however,  as  much  as  the  Saxon 
blood.  The  Highlanders,  nor  any  of  the  Celtic  tribe, 
were  never  guilty  of  such  bestiality  as  the  history  of 
the  Saxons  and  Saxonized  populations  presents  to 
the  horror  and  disgust  of  mankind. 

The  Catholic  Connaught  Rangers,  and  the  Presby- 
terian Highlanders,  form  the  most  moral  regiments  in 
the  British  service.  ( Civil  and  Military  Gazette.) 

General  Stuart,  of  Lowth,  and  others,  speak  of  the 
Highlanders,  their  piety  and  intelligence,  buying  books 
instead  of  drink,  and  saving  a deal  of  money,  which 
they  sent  home.  They  were  not  subjected  to  igno- 
minious punishments. 

After  the  reformation,  the  ceremony  of  marriage 
was  disregarded  in  Scotland  and  Wales.  But  the 
English  profligacy,  and  the  beating  and  false  desertion 
of  woman,  were  wanting  to  bring  the  Celt  to  the  Sax- 
on level.  I can  affirm  that  the  betrothed  Welsh  al- 
most invariably  remain  faithful  and  loving  to  each 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  271 

other.  The  Welsh  mother  is  a tidy,  temperate,  and 
industrious  spouse,  and  loving  her  children  dearer  than 
life. 

Mormonism  and  Freethinking  have  had  some  suc- 
cess among  the  Anglo-Orange  Irish,  who  ferociously 
hate  nuns.  But  the  Mormon  mission  has  been  a com- 
plete failure  in  Celtic  Ireland  and  the  Highlands. 
Mormonism  and  Freeloveism  make  progress  among  the 
English, whom  a British  aristocrat  called  “the  swinish 
multitude.” 

Mormonism  succeeds  best  among  the  Germans  and 
the  rural  English,  the  most  Saxonized  population  of 
that  nation. 

Mormonism  is  the  revival  of  gersume , the  disgust- 
ing and  distinctive  peculiarity  of  the  old  Saxon  race. 
Mormons  are  not  a few  isolated  brutes,  but  a whole 
formidable  Anglo-Saxon  and  German  nation  on 
American  soil. 

Read  these  American  reviews  of  them : “ While 
Mormonism  rests  as  a nightmare  on  the  heart  of  this 
fair  territory,  even  the  laborer  who  surrenders  himself 
to  its  influences  flies  only  from  destitution  and  servi- 
tude at  home  to  become  the  victim  of  a still  deeper 
destitution  and  of  a still  harsher  servitude  abroad. 
The  old  knaves  of  Utah  are  far  greater  tyrants  than 
either  Nicholas  or  Victoria.  The  Polish  and  Irish 
serf  may  be  in  rags,  but  at  least  the  sacred  hearth  and 
holy  influences  of  home  are  not  invaded.  In  Utah 
there  is  no  home.  For  the  Salt  Lake  elders  there  is 
no  God  but  Mammon,  and  no  gospel  but  the  gospel 
of  the  flesh. 


272  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

“ The  English  or  German  serf  in  Utah  cannot  work 
unless  he  works  for  the  benefit  of  the  elders,  and  can- 
not marry  because  he  is  not  permitted  to  acquire  the 
means  of  supporting  a wife.  Should  he  marry  with- 
out their  consent,  the  daughters  are  doomed  to  a pros- 
titution which  is  surrounded  with  threefold  atrocity, 
by  being,  with  huge  blasphemy,  committed  in  the 
name  of  God. 

“ The  high  priest  dignitaries  of  the  church  are  said 
to  be  exceedingly  skilful  in  procuring  young  girls  for 
wives ; inculcating  the  idea  that  the  older  members, 
who  have  been  tried  and  found  faithful,  are  surer  in- 
struments of  salvation  for  women  than  young  men, 
who  may  apostatize.  These  women  are  continually 
divorced,  to  make  room  for  others ; and  then  they  are 
* sealed  ? to  young  men,  who  are  glad  to  get  even  the 
castaways,  the  old  male  saints  monopolizing  nearly  all 
the  young  females  in  the  community.” 

Are  these  Anglo-Saxons  any  thing  less  slavish  and 
beastly  than  they  were  a thousand  years  ago  ? 

The  Evening  Express,  New  York,  an  Anglo-Saxon 
Know-nothing  paper,  says,  April  30,  1857, — 

“ An  English  clergyman,  who  left  England  to  join 
the  Mormons,  returned  to  London  in  September  last. 
He  has  just  published  a volume,  giving  his  opinion  of 
the  saints  found  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Great  Salt 
Lake.  We  quote  : — 

u 4 One  of  the  most  repulsive  features  of  Mormon- 
ism  is  the  proxy  system.  This  is  so  destructive  of 
every  good  and  honest  feeling,  that  many  stanch 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  273 

k 

Mormonites  reject  it  altogether.  I heard  one  of  the 
oldest  disciples  say  that  nothing  on  earth  would  ever 
persuade  him  to  believe  in  it,  and  that  if  he  had  a dog 
who  believed  it,  he  would  shoot  him.  Nor  will  any 
reader  be  surprised  when  he  knows  what  it  is.  I will 
endeavor  to  explain  it  briefly.  When  a married  man 
is  called  by  conference  to  a foreign  mission,  he  has  a 
privilege,  as  they  call  it,  before  leaving  home,  of  choos- 
ing some  one  to  take  the  oversight  of  his  cattle,  goods, 
and  whatever  he  may  possess ; to  provide  for  and 
overlook  the  family,  and  to  become  the  pro  tempore 
husband  of  the  wife.’ 

“ The  ostensible  reason  for  this  arrangement  is  to 
prevent  the  husband  from  c suffering  any  loss’  during 
his  absence  on  missionary  labors,  since  the  greatness 
of  his  i future  kingdom  ’ depends  on  the  number  of 
children  he  has  here.  To  carry  out  this  idea,  the  wife 
is  handed  over  to  a deputy  husband,  who  maintains 
his  position  in  the  family  till  the  husband  returns. 
Base  and  immoral  as  this  theory  may  be,  it  is  strongly 
advocated  by  the  leading  men  at  the  Great  Salt  Lake. 
We  again  quote  the  returned  clergyman : — 

“ 4 But  there  is  something  more  awful  and  paralyz- 
ing than  all  I have  yet  narrated.  I mean  the  fearful 
sin  of  incest,  which  is  so  intimately  and  closely  con- 
nected with  polygamy.  I could  particularize  in- 
stances where  mother  and  daughter  are  married  to  the 
same  man,  and  live  with  him  as  his  wives  ; others 
where  brother  and  sister  are  man  and  wife  ; and  so  on. 
Brigham  Young,  speaking  once  upon  this  subject  in 


274  CONDITION  OP  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

I 

the  tabernacle,  said  that  he  hoped  the  day  was  not  far 
distant  when  these  principles  would  be  more  fully 
taught  and  acted  upon,  and  that  children  would  be 
brought  up  to  regard  each  other  as  future  partners,  for 
that  thus  the  family  would  become  more  compact.5 

“ As  ‘ a case  in  point,5  we  would  mention  that  some 

t 

ten  months  since  there  was  a man  at  Liverpool,  who 
held  the  office  of  counsellor  to  the  British  presidency, 
who,  aided  by  the  authorities  there  and  the  emigration 
fund,  persuaded  a family  — the  father,  mother,  and 
three  daughters  (the  youngest  in  her  teens)  — to  emi- 
grate to  Zion.  They  had  been  a highly  respectable 
family,  and  their  character  irreproachable.  On  arriv- 
ing at  their  destination,  the  missionary  demanded  the 
three  daughters  in  marriage,  and  the  parents  gave  a 
most  reluctant  consent.  This  man  of  God  (as  he 
styled  himself)  was  married  by  Brigham  to  these  three 
on  the  same  day,  and  took  them  together  to  his  house, 
where  he  had  a young  wife  already,  and  which  house 
consisted  of  but  one  room  for  the  accommodation  of 
them  all.  In  about  a year  one  brought  forth  a daugh- 
ter and  another  a son.  This  caused  him  great  rejoi- 
cing, as  he  said  the  sons  would  in  time  marry  the 
daughters,  and  thus  inalienably  become  the  founda- 
tion of  his  kingdom.55 

A correspondent  of  the  New  York  Herald,  about 
the  same  time,  writes,  “ In  1855,  Salt  Lake  City  con- 
tained about  twelve  thousand  inhabitants,  and  realized, 
to  some  extent,  our  idea  of  6 Rus  in  vrbe .’  In  enter- 
ing the  Mormon  city,  a stranger  is  struck  with  the 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  275 

coarseness  of  the  men,  the  number  and  rudeness  of 
the  children,  and  the  ugliness  of  the  women.” 

I must  here  cut  short  the  quotation.  The  coarse  . 
men,  ugly  women,  and  rude  children  are  the  Saxon 
North  European  (that  is,  Gothic)  features  which  we 
might  expect  to  find  in  such  a community. 

It  is  said  in  defence  of  Englishmen,  that  they  are 
debauched  by  the  corruption  of  swollen  cities ; but  it 
appears  on  the  authority  of  the  criminal  records,  that 
the  English  rural  population  are  worse,  if  possible, 
than  the  towns.  On  the  contrary,  look  at  the  rural 
population  of  the  remote  and  ignorant  Highlands. 
The  beautiful  picture  that  Wordsworth  draws  of  the 
Highland  maid,  her  goodness  and  innocence,  her  mod- 
est, yet  frank,  open  gaze,  is  true  to  life. 

Highland  Mary  is  a pure  star,  shining  far  above  the 
Lowland  beauties  of  Burns’s  poesy. 

Irish  girls  are  sometimes  debauched  in  Saxonized 
cities,  but  the  Irish  peasants  at  home  are  the  purest 
on  earth.  (See  the  testimony  of  Sir  Francis  Head, 
Dr.  Forbes,  — queen’s  physician,  — and  other  English- 
men.) 

These  gentlemen  express  their  surprise  on  behold- 
ing the  beauty  of  Irish  ladies  and  the  intelligent  and 
modest  look  of  the  young  girls  at  the  public  schools, 
so  agreeably  different  from  what  they  had  ever  seen  in 
England  among  the  lower  orders. 

I will  take  the  latest  English  and  Protestant  author- 
ities that  have  come  to  hand,  — official  reports  that 
cannot  be  controverted. 


276  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


Here  is  an  extract  from  the  latest  notice  on  the  sub- 
ject in  the  English  Civil  Service  Gazette,  referring  to 
the  English  counties  : — 

“ The  winter  assizes  arc  proceeding ; and  Heavens ! 
what  a picture  of  crime  and  ignorance,  of  sin,  sorrow, 
and  suffering,  do  their  records  present ! To  such  a 
picture  no  common  fiction  can  do  justice.  The  lan- 
guage of  divine  inspiration  can  alone  describe  it.  It 
is  ‘the  abomination  of  desolation.’  The  facts  are  not 
within  the  compass  of  human  words  — their  effect 
must  be  left  to  the  imagination.  But  what  name 
shall  we  apply  to  such  a commission  as  that  now  sit- 
ting ? None  half  so  applicable  as  that  with  which 
history  is  already  familiar  — ‘ the  bloody  assize.’  And 
is  it  not  such  ? If  you  doubt  it,  read  the  morning 
journals.  Hear  what  an  account  they  give  of  the 
state  of  the  calendar  in  the  various  towns  which  the 
judges  are  now  in  the  course  of  visiting.” 

Then  follow  extracts  too  long  to  quote.  In  one  place 
66  offences  are  of  a very  dreadful  character ; ” at  another, 
“of  the  deepest  dye,”  — murder,  perjury,  unnatural 
crime,  infanticide,  rape,  robbery,  forgery,  &c.,  &c. 

“ Sir  John  Pakinton  calculates  that  it  is  only  every 
eighth  person  of  the  adult  population  of  England 
who  has  mastered  that  accomplishment,  (of  reading,) 
and  Earl  Grey  declared  some  time  ago,  in  the  House 
of  Lords,  that,  bearing  in  mind  the  relative  propor- 
tions of  population,  there  are  more  readers  among  the 
savages  of  New  Zealand  than  among  Englishmen.” 
Ay,  just  so,  my  lords.  Blame  it  all  upon  the  igno- 


t 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  277 


ranee  of  the  people.  You  want  to  build  more 
churches  and  fat  livings  for  younger  sons.  You  want 
more  railway  loads  of  the  Bible. 

No  doubt  ignorance  of  letters  helps  to  make  Eng- 
lishmen and  Anglo-Saxon  women  as  they  are  — lower 
than  the  New  Zealand  savages.  But  let  us  turn  to 
the  most  remote  and  illiterate  county  in  Ireland,  Don- 
egal,— the  land  of  O’Donnell,  — the  land  of  the 
beautiful,  the  good,  the  true,  the  proud,  but  oppressed 
Celtic  race,  — oppressed  by  a race  of  rich  savages,  as 
the  noble  Greeks  are  subjected  by  the  ever-barbarous 
Turks. 

An  official  paper  drawn  up  by  the  Rev.  Edward 
Clarke,  local  inspector,  and  (Protestant)  chaplain  of 
the  county  of  Donegal  jail,  shows  an  astonishing  de- 
crease in  crime  throughout  Ireland. 

The  few  crimes  are  not  of  the  Saxon  beastly  and 
thieving  character,  but  arise  out  of  landlord  tyranny ; 
they  are  agrarian,  killing  cattle,  combining  in  societies, 
administering  unlawful  oaths,  killing,  or  attempting  to 
kill,  landlords  and  agents.  Such  crimes  are  the  result 
of  Saxon  tyranny.  But  let  us  look  into  the  domestic 
state,  and  the  condition  of  woman,  the  best  criterion 
of  a people’s  real  character. 

The  inspector  says,  — 

“ Officially  connected  for  many  years  with  the  county 
of  Donegal,  I observed  with  much  pleasure  a fact  (pre- 
suming that  the  small  number  of  acquittals  denotes  the 
absence  of  crime)  highly  creditable  to  its  population, 
namely,  that  the  number  committed  in  that  county  in 

24 


278  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

1854  amounted  to  but  0.10  per  cent,  of  its  total  popu- 
lation, and  that  as  to  females  to  but  0.04  per  cent.,  or  j 
one  in  two  thousand  six  hundred  and  sixty-two  j 
females.” 

There  would  be  no  trace  even  of  common  decency  j 
in  England,  if  the  Pharisees  in  high  places  did  not  j 
enforce  at  least  an  outward  show  ol  decorum.  There  .* 
were  hundreds  and  thousands  of  shops  in  England  1 
that  dealt  in  gross  publications  and  obscene  prints, 
exhibited  in  the  public  windows,  until  the  strong  arm 
of  the  law  interposed;  but  the  trade  goes  on  privately. 

If  we  are  to  judge  a people  by  their  popular  litera-  h 
ture,  then  we  must  set  down  the  English  as  the  most 
lascivious  and  bloody-minded  on  the  face  of  the  earth. 

I saw  an  estimate  some  years  ago  of  these  infidel 
and  filthy  publications,  by  which  it  appeared  that  their 
aggregate  annual  circulation  was  twenty-five  million 
copies.  Now,  when  we  recollect  that  it  is  only  the 
better  class  of  English  who  can  read,  we  may  judge 
the  state  of  the  female  mind  in  England.  The  artists 
and  authors  did  not  create  this  gross  taste.  These 
genii  sprung  into  existence  to  satisfy  the  old  and  eter- 
nal craving  of  the  Saxon  stomach  for  rape  and  murder 
stories. 

Mayhew  says  of  the  low  English  in  London,  that 
“ there  is  no  honor  attached  to  the  married  state,” 
and  “ only  about  one  tenth  of  the  couples  living  to- 
gether are  married.”  He  says  that  the  Irish  girls,  liv- 
ing in  the  same  low  sphere,  “ are  chaste ,”  and  that  the 
laboring  Irish  are  “ deeply  religious.”  This  Mayhew 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  279 

is  an  English  barrister,  and  the  best  and  most  distin- 
guished investigator  of  the  condition  of  the  poor. 

The  awful  state  of  the  rural  Saxons  and  their  un- 
mentionable crimes  are  too  notorious  to  call  for  special 
quotations  from  Mr.  Kay  and  others.  The  open  mar- 
ket for  English  women  is  abolished,  but  the  females 
of  the  low  English  still  consider  themselves  as  mere 
animals.  A Saxon  virgin  is  such  a rarity  in  rural  dis- 
tricts, that  a zealous  state  clergyman  offered  a prize  to 
any  young  woman  who  had  not  been  a mother,  or  was 
not  enceinte  on  the  day  of  her  marriage. 

To  afford  an  example  of  English  ideas  in  general,  I 
may  relate  this  authentic  anecdote  : — 

An  English  woman  having  behaved  very  scanda- 
lously, her  husband  was  asked,  why  he  did  not  put  her 
away.  “ O,  no,”  replied  the  outraged  husband,  “ I 
can’t  part  with  her ; she’s  a d -d  fine  cook.” 

Every  man  of  the  world  who  has  been  among  the 
Lowland  Scotch  or  Saxonized  English,  must  have 
heard  some  of  the  countless  anecdotes  of  Saxon  ani- 
malism. These  afford  the  most  significant  and  true 
criteria  of  “ the  godlike  Anglo-Saxon  ” character  ; but 
they  are  too  awful  to  be  repeated.  And  yet  there  is 
morality  in  England. 

I have  read  reports  of  English  Methodist  mission- 
ers,  who  declare  that  in  the  rural  and  mining  districts 
of  the  east  and  north  of  England,  mothers  often  boast 
of  the  success  which  their  daughters  have  had  in  the 
trade  of  prostitution. 

Nearly  all  the  thousands  of  flash  houses  in  Great 


280  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

Britain  are  owned  and  furnished  by  rich  gentlemen  of 
good  standing  in  society,  who  go,  Bible  in  hand,  with 
their  families  on  the  Sabbath,  “ to  praise  the  Lord” 

During  the  parliamentary  discussions  on  Stuart 
Wortley’s  Bill  of  Incest,  it  appeared  that  above  thirty 
thousand  cases  of  marriage  with  wife’s  sister  were 
discovered  in  England. 

Horrible  conjectures  were  afloat  regarding  the  rela- 
tion of  the  parties  before  the  death  of  these  women, 
who  were  succeeded  by  their  own  sisters.  Knowing 
the  habits  of  the  English,  it  was  judged  that  in  many 
of  these  thirty  Ihousand  incest  cases  the  wife  had 
been  slowly  poisoned  by  her  own  husband  or  sister. 

The  most  loathsome  and  terrible  disgrace  upon  the 
Anglo-Saxon  character  is  the  notorious  fact,  that  such 
is  the  grovelling  nature  of  the  English,  that  men 
are  to  be  found  among  them  who  make  themselves 
lower  than  the  brute  animals  for  the  sake  of  good  eat- 
ing and  drinking.  Every  bad  English  woman  has  an 
assassin , (that  is,  Irish  for  Saxon,)  a bully , to  follow 
at  her  heels  like  a dog  for  the  sake  of  his  feed.  It  is 
a common  practice  for  prostitutes  to  marry,  (and  there 
is  no  lack  of  matches,)  and  to  retire  into  respectable 
life.  I have  elsewhere  quoted  Macaulay,  who  shows 
that  the  parsons  in  Queen  Bess’s  time  used  to  get 
promotion  by  marrying  some  girl  who  had  been  dis- 
honored by  the  patron.  At  the  present  day  it  is  said 
that  Englishmen  who  have  pretty  wives  have  the  best 
chance  for  promotion.  The  American  reader  will 
hardly  believe  this  terrible  accusation  ; but  in  England 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  281 

it  is  a notorious  fact  that  men  occasionally  sell  the 
honor  of  their  wives.  The  case  of  the  Mannings, 
who  murdered  their  victim,  O’Connor,  is  but  one  of 
many  examples,  even  in  respectable  society. 

This  feature  in  modern  Englishism  is  but  a revival 
of  the  Anglo-Saxon  institution  of  the  gersume  in  its 
primitive,  pagan  state. 

Let  us  examine  old  files  of  newspapers  or  the  latest 
arrivals,  and  the  same  repulsive  features  of  Saxon 
crime  stare  us  in  the  face.  The  sale  of  the  wife’s 
honor  by  the  husband,  the  murder  of  the  child  by  the 
mother,  and  the  committal  of  crimes  against  nature, 
that  formerly  brought  down  fire  from  heaven,  are  still 
quite  common  in  England. 

The  reader  will  find  in  the  Appendix  (page  368)  a 
most  interesting  report  on  prostitution,  from  the  Lon- 
don Globe,  January  15,  1858. 

The  chief  point  to  be  observed  in  the  report  is  the 
fact,  which  is  well  enough  known,  and  which  I have 
already  mentioned,  viz.,  that  Englishmen  in  general 
do  not  object  to  marry  notorious  prostitutes.  There 
is  no  civilized  country,  pagan  or  Christian,  so  vile,  so 
brutal  and  debased  as  England,  the  mother  of  Mor- 
monism. 

One  out  of  every  thirteen  or  fourteen  English 
women  is  a prostitute.  (See  Report.)  But  besides, 
there  is  the  large  class  of  women,  married,  respectable 
mothers  of  the  English,  who,  having  retired  from  pub- 
lic life,  are  absorbed , as  the  report  says,  into  the  bosom 

24* 


282  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


of  English  society.  Well  may  the  English  call  each 

other  “ sons  of  b .”  A verse  of  a popular  old 

English  song  illustrates  this  national  feature  of  Saxon 
life : — 

“My  breeches  are  torn  behind  and  before, 

My  purse  is  very  scanty  ; 

But  I will  go  and  marry  a wh , 

Who’ 11  keep  ine  in  money  plenty.” 

The  late  trial  of  the  African  Roscius,  for  seduction, 
brought  out  the  fact  that  a lady’s  husband,  unable  or 
unwilling  to  support  her,  told  her  to  go  and  live  by 
prostitution : she  did  so,  and  she  bore  a child  to  the 
rich  nigger.  Then  the  virtuous  husband  comes  in  and 
prosecutes  the  nigger,  thinking  to  get  damages  ; but 
he  got  only  a trifle. 

The  laws  of  Ethelbert  forced  the  adulterer  to  pay 
the  injured  Saxon  a fine,  and  “ buy  him  a neiv  wife” 
At  the  present  day  an  Englishman  is  compensated  for 
damages  done  to  his  property,  the  sin  itself  not  being 
considered  criminal  in  the  eye  of  English  law.  The 
pagan  Saxons  only  killed  their  damaged  wives  when 
they  could  not  sell  them. 

In  the  February  number  of  Harper’s  Magazine,  an 
American  lawyer  gives  an  account  of  a late  tour 
throughout  the  English  assizes.  He  says  that  trials 
for  crimes  against  nature  were  common  every  where, 
also  for  infanticide,  &c. 

The  New  York  Daily  Times,  though  English  in 
prejudice,  says,  in  commenting  on  the  late  English 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  283 


divorce  bill,  that  “ it  is  simply  a bill  to  provide  for  the 
extension  to  all  classes  of  the  British  public  of  those 
facilities  of  divorce  which  have  been  heretofore  con- 
fined to  the  wealthy  and  the  powerful.  Up  to  the 
present  time  the  injured  British  husband  has  been 
forced  to  seek  redress  for  his  wrong  in  the  shape  of 
pecuniary  compensation  for  his  wife’s  honor,  and  his 
own,  before  a court  of  justice,  and  relief  from  an  in- 
tolerable bond  before  the  House  of  Lords.  Of  the 
miserable  history  compressed  into  this  brief  statement, 
what  imagination  can  afford  us  an  adequate  idea ! 
Yet  so  demoralized  by  the  force  of  prescription  is  the 
4 collective  wisdom’  of  Britain,  that  the  attempt  to 
remove  a damning  disgrace  from  British  jurisprudence, 
and  to  afford  a righteous  and  honorable  redress  to 
respectable  Englishmen  and  Englishwomen  smarting 
under  the  bitterest  of  wrongs,  was  denounced  as  a 
kind  of  treason  to  the  state. 

“ Yet  this  bill,  of  which  the  history  is  so  discredita- 
ble to  British  legislation,  and  the  passage  of  which  is 
justly  regarded  in  England  as  a victory  of  progress,  is 
of  such  a character  that  it  would  be  scouted  in  any 
assembly  of  decent  Americans  as  an  outrage  upon  the 
one  sex,  and  an  insult  to  the  other.  It  has  indeed  sur- 
rounded the  proprietary  rights  of  women  with  some 
frail  barriers ; it  has  done  away  with  the  scandals  of 
the  suit  for  criminal  conversation,  and  has  abolished 
the  insufferable  caste  distinctions  of  the  old  system. 
But  while  it  attempts  to  make  adultery  a crime,  it 


284  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

stultifies  that  attempt  by  a provision  to  the  effect  that 
when  both  parties  are  proved  guilty  of  that  crime, 
neither  shall  be  punished  ; and  it  denies  to  the  wife  of 
an  adulterous  husband  the  divorce  which  is  conceded 
to  the  husband  of  an  adulterous  wife. 

“That  six  hundred  Englishmen,  claiming  to  be  honest 
men  and  gentlemen,  should  have  permitted  the  intro- 
duction into  their  presence  of  a proposition  so  revolt- 
ing and  so  unjust,  would  hardly  be  credible  if  we  were 
not  forced  to  believe  the  further  abomination  that  by 
a majority  of  their  number  that  proposition  was  adopt- 
ed. Nor  are  we  left  in  doubt  as  to  the  motives  of  this 
proceeding.  For  when  a member  objected  to  the  in- 
troduction of  a clause  equalizing  the  relief  of  divorce 
to  both  sexes  by  asking,  4 If  this  clause  were  adopted, 
I should  like  to  know  how  many  married  men  there 
would  be  in  this  house  ? ’ he  was  answered  with 
4 roars  of  laughter.’  Here,  then,  we  have  the  testimo- 
ny of  six  hundred  and  odd  English  gentlemen,  that 
Englishmen  of  consideration  do  not  regard  the  habit- 
ual violation  of  the  marriage  contract  by  a husband 
as  a serious  offence,  coupled  with  the  tacit  confession 
that  such  habitual  violation  is  generally  prevalent  in 
the  higher  ranks  of  English  society.  Of  the  force  of 
this  testimony,  and  of  the  sincerity  of  this  confession, 
we  have  the  further  and  irrefragable  evidence  that  a 
measure  embodying  both  was  passed  to  a law  by  the 
gentlemen  aforesaid,  and  by  them  presented  to  the 
royal  lady  who  represents  the  sovereignty  of  England, 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  285 

she,  in  her  turn,  affixing  her  signature  to  a bill  which 
bestows  a more  than  Eastern  license  upon  her  own 
husband  and  her  sons. 

“ To  eulogize  the  4 domestic  morals  ’ of  Britain  in 
the  face  of  such  facts  as  these,  must  somewhat  severe- 
ly tax  the  brazen  audacity  of  the  bells  of  Bow  them- 
selves.” 

But  corrupt  as  are  the  aristocracy,  or  what  is  called 
“ good  society,”  in  England,  the  lower  orders  are 
worse. 

The  ignorant  working  class  in  Ireland  are  the  most 
Celtic,  and  beyond  question  the  most  virtuous  in  Ire- 
land. The  ignorant  working  class  in  England  have 
been,  since  the  conquest,  the  most  Saxon,  and  they 
are  certainly  the  worst  of  bad  classes  in  Great 
Britain. 

North,  south,  and  west,  humanity  in  the  British 
Isles  becomes  elevated  in  proportion  as  we  distance 
Saxondom. 

Laing  says  that,  although  education  is  very  general 
in  Sweden,  the  state  of  female  morals  is  worse  than  in 
any  other  European  country.  I thought  the  English 
were  the  worst,  but  the  Swedes  and  North  Germans 
are  of  purer  Gothic  breed ; that  accounts  for  it. 

In  the  first  French  revolution  of  ?92,  the  mob 
committed  the  most  dreadful  outrages  against  women. 
In  reading  the  account  of  that  frightful  epoch,  we  are 
astonished  at  the  horrid  deeds  that  were  perpetrated. 
In  the  cathedral  of  Notre  Dame,  that  temple  dedicated 


286  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

by  the  pious  old  Parisians  to  the  Queen  of  Virgins, 
the  mob  placed  a half-naked  prostitute  upon  the  altar, 
and  honored  her  as  a Goddess  of  Reason.  Was  this 
an  evidence  of  the  natural  propensities  of  the  race,  or 
was  it  not  rather  the  result  of  a temporary  madness  in 
the  public  mind  ? Any  one  acquainted  with  French 
character  knows  that  they  are  the  most  tender-hearted 
people,  and  the  most  respectful  towards  woman,  and 
that  there  is  nothing  that  distinguishes  the  Gaul  from 
the  Saxon  more  than  his  womanish  fondness  for 
children,  and  the  little  attentions  and  caresses  which 
are  beneath  John  Bull’s  dignity. 

The  truth  is,  that  oppression  had  made  the  French 
people  stark  mad;  and  the  proof  of  this  is  the  utter 
absence  of  any  trace  of  reason  in  their  proceedings. 
They  did  in  their  fury  what  the  English  mothers  do 
in  cold  blood,  and  what  English  political  economy  ex- 
ecutes upon  scientific  calculations. 

The  Celts  alone  elevated  woman. 

Let  us  look  back  upon  the  life  of  the  old  Gauls, 
who  venerated  the  purity  of  their  Druidesses,  who 
held  their  wives  in  honor,  and  who  submitted  their 
disputes  to  the  gentle  tribunal  of  Gallic  women. 
Let  us  remember  the  matchless  gallant  of  old  Gaul, 
and  the  worship  of  female  beauty  and  purity,  which 
the  French  crusaders  instituted  in  European  society, 
and  we  must  conclude  that  the  horrors  of  the  French 
revolution  afford  no  true  criterion  of  French  charac- 
ter. But  let  us  impartially  compare  the  history  of  the 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  287 

Celt  and  Saxon  for  a thousand  years,  and  we  find 
that  the  excesses  of  a temporary  insanity  in  France 
have  almost  uninterruptedly  marked  the  Anglo-Saxon 
character,  through  all  its  history. 

Even  in  the  French  madness,  mothers  did  not  slay 
their  own  infants,  fathers  did  not  sell  their  daughters ; 
they  did  not  commit  crimes  against  nature. 

What  are  the  Celts  and  Saxons  doing  for  the  eleva- 
tion of  woman  in  America  ? The  crusade  for  “ wo- 
man’s rights  ” is  an  effort  to  bring  us  back  to  the 
Celtic  pagan  system  of  judges  and  Druidesses,  the 
lawyers  and  the  parsons  ; but  the  pagan  women  mod- 
estly retired  from  the  crowd,  and  they  were  under  the 
supreme  control  of  the  sex  that  God  has  endowed 
with  energies  to  rule  society. 

“ Modesty  is  a quality  that  highly  adorns  a woman.” 
( Copy  book.)  Let  the  strong-minded  female  doctors 
first  try  to  heal  the  moral  ulcers  that  are  eating  into 
domestic  life.  I pass  over  in  silence  the  abuses  which 
American  writers  satirize,  and  which  are  topics  of 
table  talk. 

American  ladies  are  physically,  intellectually,  and 
morally  ahead  of  the  English  ; certainly  they  are  more 
Celtic.  They  are  very  charitable,  with  all  their  Celtic 
extravagance  and  want  of  economy.  Religious  man- 
ifestations and  revivals  evince  an  intensity  and  sin- 
cerity that  we  do  not  find  in  England. 

It  is  hard  to  disintegrate  the  Saxon  from  the  Celtic 
influence  in  a community  like  this;  yet  we  find 
enough  to  show,  that  in  the  most  Saxonized  parts  of 


288  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

the  Union,  seduction,  abortion,  &c.,  arc  most  common. 
The  trade  of  abortion  is  general,  the  number  of  pa- 
tients incalculable.  While  I write  this,  there  are  cor- 
oners’ inquests  on  the  bodies  of  two  young  ladies,  vic- 
tims of  unskilful  treatment.  The  writings  of  Fowler 
& Wells  on  the  disgusting  vices  of  Young  America, 
on  infanticide,  &c.,  and  the  condition  of  woman  in 
New  York,  and  other  Saxonized  localities,  have  been 
charged  as  exaggerations.  But  the  large  sale  of  abor- 
tion instruments,  and  the  immense  over  proportion  of 
still-born  and  infant  deaths  on  the  records,  are  star- 
tling facts,  not  to  speak  of  the  police  list. 

The  ship  loads  of  Irish  passengers  contain  inno- 
cent girls,  who  have  no  thought  but  to  work  diligent- 
ly, to  relieve  their  poorer  friends,  to  attend  their  reli- 
gious duties,  and  to  get  well  married  if  they  can. 
The  ship  loads  of  English  passengers  have  honest 
girls  too,  but  they  also  contain  a majority  of  Mormon - 
iles  amd  free-lovers , coming  out  on  speculation,  or  to 
fulfil  some  indecent  engagement.  In  fact  a great 
many  have  already  sold  themselves  to  prostituting 
agents,  who  leave  this,  and  avoiding  Celtic  countries, 
go  to  England,  North  Germany,  and  Sweden,  where 
they  procure  white  slaves  for  the  promiscuous  harems 
of  America. 

England,  especially,  supplies  the  market  of  Mor- 
mondom,  a power  that  threatens  to  be  rebellious  and 
troublesome,  as  well  as  a source  of  corruption  to  the 
whole  Union.  The  Anglo-Saxons  of  Mormondom 
should  commemorate  the  arrival  of  their  women,  in  a 
monument  to  “ our  Pit  err  im  Mothers .” 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  289 

The  perusal  of  old  English  books,  especially  those 
intended  for  other  purposes  than  the  exposition  of 
manners,  gives  us  very  interesting  hints  regarding  the 
moral  sense  of  the  nation.  Old  plays,  tales,  and  songs 
might  be  quoted,  if  they  were  not  too  indecent ; but 
take  for  example  the  book  before  me,  published  at 
Kendal,  in  1821,  and  written  by  a lady  — Mrs.  Whee- 
ler. It  is  a collection  of  dialogues  to  illustrate  the 
dialects  of  the  north  of  England.  The  preface  intro- 
duces an  account  of  a fisticuff  and  skull-dragging  be- 
tween two  women.  The  first  dialogue  opens  with  in- 
decent language  between  Ann  and  Mary,  “ upon  run- 
ning away  from  a bad  husband.”  Mary  proposes  to 
go  away  to  service,  or  to  prostitute  herself,  rather  than 
stay  and  be  starved  and  beaten  by  her  husband,  and 
she  seems  to  care  little  about  leaving  her  barns,  (chil- 
dren.) It  appears  that  she  had  had  a barn  before 
marriage,  and  that  this  was  not  unusual,  but  that  it 
did  not  increase  the  husband’s  respect  for  the  wife. 
It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  husband  in  these  English 
dialogues  is  called  “ master.”  Ann  warns  Mary  not 
to  run  away,  because  “ no  one  dare  take  you  in ; the 
husband  has  terrible  power;  no  justice  could  interfere 
with  him ; he  can  do  what  he  pleases  with  you.  He 
may  beat  thee,  nay,  half  kill  thee,  or  lame  thee,  or 
famish  thee,  nay,  sell  thee,  and  no  one  dare  interfere 
with  him.”  u Nae  justice  can  bang  him  ; ne  can  dae 
what  he  wull  wie  thee  ; he  jrxay  Mck  thee,  nay,  hoaf 
kill  thee,  or  learn  thee,  ox  clam  thee,  nay,  sell  thee,  an* 
nae  yan  dar  n^eil  on  him.”  Mary  complains  that 

25 


290  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

not  only  “ fels  her  wie  his  gripen  neaf,”  (knocks  her 
down  with  his  fist,)  but  he  takes  all  the  “ brass  ” she 
earns  and  spends  it  with  a u lairly  ugly,”  (prostitute,) 
and  leaves  her  and  the  “ barns  ” to  starve,  and  she 
envies  the  ladies  of  easy  life  in  London.  These  dia- 
logues, written  by  a lady,  and  intended  only  to  illus- 
trate the  Saxon  dialect,  are  full  of  indecencies,  and 
the  custom  of  having  the  wedding  and  the  christening 
at  the  same  time  is  frequently  commented  upon. 
One  old  woman  says  it  was  not  so  in  her  time. 
English  virtue  is  always  retrospective.  If  we  believe 
English  newspapers,  wife-beating  is  a new  English 
crime,  and  conjugal  infidelity  and  maternal  depravity 
unprecedented. 

O,  gentle  author  of  a The  Women  of  England,” 
have  you  seen  English  women  dragged  to  prison  ? 
Have  you  seen  the  brutal  English  police  with  cords 
on  their  female  prisoner’s  wrists,  trailing  her  on  her 
back  through  the  dirty  street,  or  tying  her,  like  a rabid 
thing,  on  a handcart,  amid  the  jeers  of  the  multitude  ? 
Have  you  seen  her  doused  in  cold  water,  and  her  long 
hair  — woman’s  gift  from  modest  Nature  — cropped 
off  close  to  the  skull  ? Have  you  seen  her  indecently 
stripped  and  whipped  in  prison  ? Have  you  seen  her 
from  day  to  day  on  the  monotonous,  cruel  treadmill, 
that  brutifies  while  it  degrades  humanity  into  a ma- 
chine? Have  you  seen  English  women  on  the  chain- 
gang,  led  through  the  street  to  transportation  ? If 
you  have  not  seen  these  scenes,  you  cannot  give  a 
full  history  of  the  women  of  England. 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  291 

At  the  present  day  England  is  the  only  civilized 
country  where  the  strong  arm  and  ubiquitous  eye  of 
the  law  is  demanded,  but  fails  to  protect  the  English 
wife  and  daughter  from  the  fists  and  feet  of  the  pater- 
familias. In  primitive  Saxon  times,  an  Englishman 
could  sell  or  murder  his  wife  or  female  slaves  with  im- 
punity ; but  we  are  getting  more  civilized.  Murdered 
women  have  not  been  forgotten  by  the  new  school  of 
philanthropists,  who  prevent  cruelty  to  animals.  By 
a late  act  it  is  ordained  that  an  English  woman  must 
not  be  smashed  and  kicked  under  penalty  of  five 
pounds.  For  five  pounds  an  Englishman  can  drag 
his  wife  by  the  hair  of  her  head,*  kick  her,  and  beat 
out  every  feature  in  her  face.  I am  afraid  that  the 
fine  of  five  pounds  will  not  put  a stop  to  a general 
national  practice  that  has  prevailed  since  Saxons 
were  made  Saxons.  The  practice  goes  on,  and  will 
go  on,  as  long  as  Britons  have  any  Saxon  blood  in 
their  veins.  Is  it  not  remarkable  that  many  Saxon- 
ized  Irish  and  Americans  have  acquired  the  English 
brutalities  that  were  and  are  unknown  among  the 
pure  Celts  ? 

I believe  that  Irishmen  are  more  given  to  wife-beat- 
ing and  murder  than  the  French,  Spanish,  or  other 
Celts,  not  because  they  are  less  affectionate  husbands, 
but  because  they  are  brought  more  within  the  Saxon 
influence.  Any  one  who  has  taken  the  trouble  to  in- 
quire into  the  subject,  must  have  remarked  that  Irish- 
men are  the  most  excitable  of  all  races  when  in  a 
state  of  intoxication  ; and  secondly,  that  Irish  murders 


292  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

are  almost  invariably  com  mil  ted  during  a drunken 
brawl.  It  is  equally  notorious  that  English  murders 
are  usually  cold-blooded,  and  committed  after  long 
calculation  as  to  ways  and  means. 

We  hear  of  agrarian  murders  committed  on  the 
oppressors  of  the  poor,  and  of  murders  by  drunken, 
fighting  Irishmen.  But  though  there  are  ruffianly 
Irish,  they  cannot  be  compared  with  the  Saxons. 

No  young  Irishman  would  marry  a prostitute ; 
much  less  would  any  Celt  compel  his  wife  or  daugh- 
ter to  support  him  in  idleness  and  gluttony  by  the 
wages  of  iniquity. 

The  English  Parliament,  in  this  nineteenth  century, 
is  called  upon  yearly  to  enact  more  stringent  measures 
to  save  the  English  wife  from  her  husband ; thus 
proclaiming  to  the  world  that  the  Saxon  is  still  a sav- 
age, and  the  English  woman  still  a slave. 

The  English  woman  is  still  denied  the  legal  rights 
of  person  and  property.  The  English  legislator  may 
read  the  laws  of  old  pagan  Italy  and  Ireland,  and 
blush  for  the  Saxon  race,  that  is,  if  an  Englishman 
can  blush. 

Since  the  above  was  written,  the  news  of  a woman’s 
rights  agitation  has  arrived  from  England.  The  New 
York  Herald  and  other  papers  give  us  a copy  of  a pe- 
tition from  English  women,  praying,  not  for  political 
rights,  as  demanded  in  America,  but  mercy , legal  pro- 
tection, and  emancipation  from  the  absolute  control 
which  the  Englishman  still  legally  exercises  over  the 
person  and  property  of  his  slave  wife.  The  petition 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  293 

repeats  the  English  slave  laws  affecting  wives  and 
daughters,  especially  in  regard  to  the  appropriation  of 
the  women’s  earnings  by  the  men. 

The  petition  “ humbly  showeth,  that  the  manifold 
evils  occasioned  by  the  law,  by  which  the  property 
and  earnings  of  the  wife  are  thrown  into  the  absolute 
power  of  the  husband,  become  daily  more  apparent ; 
that  the  suffering  thereupon  ensuing  extends  over  all 
classes  of  society,”  &c. 

These  ladies  then  go  on  at  length  to  show  that  men 
live  in  idleness  in  proportion  as  the  women  are  hard 
wrought.  Read  what  follows  : — 

“ But  for  the  robbery  by  a man  of  his  wife’s  hard 
earnings  there  is  no  redress ; against  the  selfishness  of 
a drunken  father,  who  wrings  from  a mother  her  chil- 
dren’s daily  bread,  there  is  no  appeal.  She  may  work 
from  morning  till  night  to  see  the  produce  of  her  la- 
bor wrested  from  her  and  wasted  in  a gin  palace  ; and 
such  cases  are  within  the  knowledge  of  every  one.” 
u The  newspapers  constantly  detail  instances  of 
marital  oppression  — ‘ wife-beating  ’ being  a new  com- 
pound noun  lately  introduced  into  the  English  lan- 
guage, and  a crime  against  which  English  gentlemen 
have  lately  enacted  stringent  regulations.” 

The  responsibility  of  the  husband  for  the  wife’s  debts 
is  but  a mark  of  woman’s  slavery.  They  pray  for  its 
abolition,  and  conclude  by  showing  that  the  laws  of 
foreign  countries  are  “ much  more  just  ” than  the  Eng- 
lish in  regard  to  woman. 

The  spirit  of  English  law  and  the  conduct  of 
25* 


294  CONDITION  OP  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

English  officials  are  unjust,  cruel,  and  merciless,  in  ex- 
act proportion  as  their  victims  are  helpless  and  deserv- 
ing of  pity.  The  heartless  inhumanity  of  the  English 
system  towards  poor  women  and  children  would 
make  the  African  savage  nations  shudder  with  horror. 

The  law  of  nature  and  the  law  of  God  say  that 
you  shall  not  separate  the  mother  from  the  infant,  nor 
the  husband  from  the  wife.  But  the  English  lords 
and  bishops  treat  the  poor  as  so  many  cattle.  These 
Christian  legislators  ordain  that  if  sickness,  and  grief, 
and  poverty  should  drive  a poor  family  to  the  work- 
house,  the  infant  must  be  dragged  from  the  mother, 
and  the  husband  from  the  wife,  thereby  outraging  hu- 
manity and  increasing  the  notorious  immorality  of 
these  bastiles.  The  poor,  and  especially  the  poor 
children,  were  murdered  wholesale  in  the  Irish  work- 
houses,  by  the  Anglo-Orange  guardians  of  the  poor, 
who  reduced  the  food  of  the  victims  to  less  than  a 
pennyworth  a day  for  each.  Occasionally  we  have 
revelations  of  the  like  murder  of  the  innocents  in 
English  poorhouses,  surpassing  in  atrocity  any  thing 
that  Dickens  could  conceive  of  these  establishments ; 
see,  for  instance,  the  Edmonston  Union  reports,  where- 
in we  find  that  the  children  were  flogged  and  starved, 
wasted  away  by  scrofula  and  other  diseases ; the  poor 
things  scarcely  looked  like  human  beings.  They  fell 
by  slow,  deliberate  murder,  because  they  were  poor 
orphans. 

The  government  inquiry  into  the  discipline  of  the 
Leicester  and  Birmingham  jails  brought  out  some 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  295 


dreadful  revelations.  For  the  slightest  faults,  or  for  no 
cause  but  the  brutal  whims  of  the  keepers,  women  in 
a naked  state  would  be  drenched  with  buckets  of  cold 
water,  handcuffed  in  a very  painful  position,  with 
their  hands  behind  their  backs,  their  bed  and  light 
taken  from  them,  and  they  would  be  allowed  nothing 
but  a little  bread  and  water  for  days  together.  The 
cruelties  inflicted  on  boys  for  whistling,  or  calling  to 
each  other,  and  such  crimes , were  so  severe  that  many 
of  the  poor  lads  committed  suicide.  Weakly  boys 
were  obliged  to  make  ten  thousand  to  fifteen  thousand 
turns  of  the  crank  in  a day.  If  they  could  not  ac- 
complish it,  they  were  taken  away  and  starved  and 
flogged  without  any  mercy.  They  would  be  chained 
up  to  a wall,  with  a collar  round  the  neck  choking 
them.  When  they  fainted,  which  they  usually  did, 
buckets  of  cold  water  were  dashed  on  them,  and  they 
were  left  to  lie  on  the  cold  flags.  After  this  they 
would  be  sent  to  do  double  work  on  half  allowance  of 
food.  If  they  failed,  they  were  flogged  again.  If 
they  complained,  they  were  chained  up  again  with  the 
dog’s  collar,  and  beaten,  and  often  kicked  in  the 
mouth.  Such  was  the  general  routine  of  English  dis- 
cipline, according  to  the  evidence  of  visiting  magis- 
trates, and  the  confessions  of  jailers  themselves.  (See 
Report  of  Tail  Discipline , edited  by  Joseph  Allday, 
Churchwarden.  Published  by  F.  Pitman,  Paternoster 
Row,  1853.) 

It  would  be  far  happier  for  widows  and  orphans  to 
sink  into  the  ocean  and  be  devoured  by  sharks 


296  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

than  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  English  poor-law 
guardians. 

Even  in  the  year  of  the  Irish  famine,  when  the 
hardest  heart  might  have  relented,  thousands  of  help- 
less women  and  children  were  driven  out  of  England 
to  seek  their  own  parish  in  Ireland  — ay,  widows  and 
orphans  of  men  who  had  toiled  hard  through  their 
best  years  to  create  England’s  wealth.  Many  of  these 
poor  outcasts,  even  in  sickness,  were  thrown  on  the 
decks  of  steamers,  where  they  perished  on  the  passage. 
The  mayor  of  Dublin,  with  Mr.  Delany  of  Sackville 
Street,  and  a committee  of  other  charitable  gentlemen, 
relieved  in  that  city  alone  over  eleven  hundred  in  one 
year  of  the  victims  of  English  hospitality ; poor  crea- 
tures driven  away  because  they  were  no  longer  able  to 
work  for  England’s  white-slave  drivers. 

The  British  government  declared  and  proved  by 
their  acts  that  it  was  no  part  of  their  duty  to  save  the 
lives  of  the  people,  but  only  to  coerce  them,  and  make 
them  pay  rents,  tithes,  and  taxes.  And  it  is  one  of 
the  leading  principles  of  the  political  economy  that 
guides  English  legislation,  that  surplus  populations 
have  no  right  to  exist. 

Consequently,  the  wholesale  famine  murders  were 
considered  a visitation  of  kind  Providence  to  help  out 
the  laws  of  political  economy.  The  English  found  out 
many  private  means  of  helping  out  the  designs  of 
their  beneficent  economy.  For  example,  the  reader 
may  remember  the  murders  at  Tooting,  in  1848. 

“ There  were  found  to  be  a great  many  Irish 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  297 


orphans  in  the  London  workhouses ; more  than 
twelve  hundred  of  them  were  farmed  out  at  four  shil- 
lings and  sixpence  per  week  each,  to  a man  named 
Drewitt,  near  Tooting,  in  Surrey,  with  instructions 
not  to  pamper  their  appetites.  Ten  died  the  first 
week,  thirty-seven  the  next,  then  eighty-six,  and  so  on, 
till  the  number  of  deaths  weekly  exceeded  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy ! This  was  overdoing  the  job,  so 
Drewitt  was  brought  to  a mock  trial,  but  of  course 
received  no  punishment.” 

In  the  English  workhouses,  mothers  are  allowed  to 
attend  their  infants  on  the  breast,  because  this  arrange- 
ment is  most  convenient  and  least  expensive.  But 
children  who  are  able  to  know  a mother’s  voice,  to 
feel  her  love,  and  to  imbibe  her  Catholic  teaching,  are 
separated  from  their  parents.  The  holy  institution  of 
the  family  is  trampled  under  foot  by  the  English  sys- 
tem. Poor  people  are  arranged  as  an  English  squire 
arranges  his  library,  not  according  to  the  spirit  of  the 
works,  but  the  size  of  the  books. 

The  English  and  Anglo-Orange  guardians  break  up 
the  family  ; but  they  are  generally  heedless  of  how 
they  let  in  abandoned  characters  to  corrupt  the  inno- 
cent. I have  known,  in  several  Irish  poorhouses,  cor- 
rupt girls  put  in  among  the  innocent,  while  the  nuns 
were  excluded. 

What  is  the  conduct  of  England  in  regard  to  poor 
girls  ? If  they  are  virtuous,  they  may  sit  in  rags,  with 
aching  joints,  fevered  brain,  and  eyes  red  from  want 
of  sleep  ; they  may  sing  the  “ Song  of  the  Shirt  ” for 


298  CONDITION  OK  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


rascally  employers,  and  there  is  but  little  private  and 
no  public  or  legislative  notice  taken  of  them.  They 
are  called  able-bodied , and  are  not  entitled  to  relief. 
If  they  dare  to  beg,  they  are  dragged  to  prison,  their 
hair  cut  off,  and  cold  water  dashed  upon  them,  and 
they  are  condemned  to  pick  oakum.  If,  on  getting  out 
of  prison,  they  prostitute  themselves,  and  if  they  suc- 
ceed and  get  into  a fine  house,  and  strut  about  in 
silks,  then  indeed  their  persons  are  respected  by  the 
minions  of  the  law ; but  what  is  worse  still,  the  un- 
fortunate girls  who  bear  children  either  kill  the  little 
ones  or  send  them  to  an  old  dry  nurse  to  be  spoon-fed, 
and  dosed  with  laudanum,  while  the  mother  goes  to 
luxurious  quarters  as  wet  nurse  in  some  nobleman’s 
or  gentleman’s  family. 

The  great  Burke  said  that  “ the  vicious  perfection  ” 
of  English  law  tended  in  all  things  to  demoralize  and 
brutify  the  Irish  race. 

English  government  grants  were  never  voluntarily 
given  to  Ireland  for  any  good  purpose.  The  Castle 
of  Dublin  and  the  English  garrisons  were  a propa- 
ganda of  bastardy  in  Dublin.  Carleton  shows  (in  his 
story  of  “ The  Foster  Brother  ”)  that  the  government, 
in  endowing  a foundling  hospital,  only  held  out  a pre- 
mium to  debauchery. 

But  how  did  the  English  institution  succeed? 
Were  the  infants  farmed  to  nurses  neglected  and 
killed  by  ill  treatment,  as  in  England  ? Did  immorality 
increase  in  Ireland  ? No ! Carleton  proves  by  the 
evidence  of  a commission  to  investigate  into  the 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  299 

working  of  the  Foundling  Hospital,  that  the  orphans 
and  foundlings,  called  Parisheens , were  generally  bet- 
ter treated  than  the  children  of  the  nurses,  because 
they  were  forlorn  creatures.  “ Innumerable  instances 
have  occurred  where  the  parisheens,  after  being  sent  to 
good  situations,  have  eloped  back  to  the  poor  sheds  of 
their  nurses,  and  nurses  have  frequently  come  to  Dub- 
lin with  tears  in  their  eyes,  begging  to  have  back  their 
nurslings,  offering  to  support  them  at  their  own  ex- 
pense. We  would  naturally  suppose,  judging  by  Eng- 
lish experience,  that  the  forsaken  children  would,  in  the 
houses  of  their  mercenary  nurses,  experience  neglect 
and  ill  treatment.  Yet  the  affection  of  the  nurses  for 
these  children,  and  of  the  children  for  the  nurses,  was 
proved  by  a force  and  extent  of  testimony  which  no 
scepticism  could  encounter.” 

Montesquieu,  in  his  Spirit  of  Laws,  quotes  Voltaire’s 
account  of  a sect  of  women  in  Denmark,  who  made 
it  their  mission  to  strangle  every  babe  within  their 
reach,  in  order  that  its  soul  might  go  to  heaven.  They 
also  took  the  Bible  for  their  guide,  and  it  made  them 
tigresses,  because  it  was  in  their  nature  as  it  was  in 
the  nature  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  women,  their  sisters. 

“ The  earth  is  filled  with  English  crime,  and  it  can 
hold  no  more.”  Such  was  the  bitter  confession  of  the 
London  Times,  when  the  English  Parliament  was 
obliged  to  pass  laws  against  infanticide,  and  the  sys- 
tematic trade  of  abortionists.  The  too  tedious  enact- 
ments of  law  was  a public  confession  to  the  whole 
world  that  the  first  and  last  link  of  humanity,  the 


300  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

love  of  a mother  for  her  child,  was  broken  in  Sax- 
on do  m. 

In  Celtic  nations  infanticide  is  a very  rare  crime, 
committed  to  cover  shame.  In  England  infanticide  is 
a common  crime,  committed  to  satisfy  gluttony.  In 
England  the  murder  of  the  innocents  is  wholesale,  in 
order  to  get  money  from  Burial  Societies,  or  to  get 
rid  of  surplus  children,  which  the  admirable  practical 
Saxon  economy  calls  “ encumbrances .” 

The  fear  of  public  scorn,  and  the  pride  of  preserv- 
ing her  family  name  from  disgrace,  will  sometimes 
madly  drive  an  Irish  or  Highland  girl  into  the  crime 
of  infanticide.  I speak  of  exceptional  cases,  for  it  is 
very,  very  seldom  that  a Celtic  girl  suffers  dishonor 
among  her  own  people.  But  it  is  among  married 
women  in  Saxondom  that  child-murder,  even  in  utero , 
is  most  common.  u The  enviable  practical  spirit  of 
the  Anglo-Saxon,”  and  the  “ admirable  economy,”  reg- 
ulate the  number  of  children  to  the  husband’s  income. 
Young  mouths  must  not  come  too  fast  to  curtail  the 
beefsteak  and  the  ale  of  the  parents.  The  English 
are  not  so  improvident  as  “ the  foolish  Irish,  who 
marry  young,  and  struggle  through  life  with  a large 
family.”  The  instinct  of  tiger  mothers  prevails  only 
where  Saxon  blood  is  infused  in  Great  Britain  and 
America.  For  proof  of  this  I have  referred  to  the 
English  police  reports,  and  the  writings  of  such  Eng- 
lishmen as  Kay,  Mayhew.  See  also  Lord  Ashley’s 
reports,  and  the  parliamentary  Blue  Books.  But  the 
readiest  reference  is  the  police  reports,  and  the  popular 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  301 

£ 

newspapers,  as  the  Weekly  Dispatch,  Reynolds’s  News- 
paper, &c.  See  the  parliamentary  debates,  and  the 
acts  passed  regarding  the  poisoning  of  children,  and 
the  extensive  trade  of  procuring  abortion  in  England. 

The  systematic  traffic  in  seduction,  and  the  national 
practice  of  wife-beating,  necessarily  spring  up  with 
these  other  vices. 

We  are  not  to  judge  of  a people  by  such  great 
cities  as  London  or  Paris.  I speak  of  the  country  of 
England  generally,  and  especially  the  more  Saxonized 
lower  orders. 

46 

The  Artisan,  June  1,  1853,  in  answer  to  a corre- 
spondent, says,  u There  is  reason  to  fear  that  your  sup- 
positions are  not  ill-founded.  We  have  been  informed, 
by  several  pharmaceutists  in  Manchester,  that  red 
chromate  of  potassa  is,  in  all  probability,  extensively 
resorted  to  for  secret  poisoning,  since  the  sale  of  arsenic 
was  placed  under  legal  restrictions.” 

As  I have  referred  to  the  celebrated  work  of  May- 
hew,  I may  quote  his  own  words ; he  says  of  the  moral 
degradation  of  English  women,  that  “ even  mothers 
forget  their  affection  for  their  helpless  little  offspring, 
and  kill  them  as  a butcher  does  his  lambs,  in  order  to 
make  money  by  the  murder,  and  thereby  to  lessen 
their  pauperism  and  misery.”  But  authentic  history 
tells  us  that  they  sold  or  murdered  their  children  when 
they  were  in  no  need.  Mayhew  says  the  boys  who 
are  likely  to  be  useful  to  their  parents  are  not  poisoned. 
This  was  exactly  the  old  Saxon  and  red  Indian 


302  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

This  political  economy  of  the  working  classes  is 
analogous  to  the  royal  British  policy,  that  starves  and 
murders  nations  — “ surplus  populations.” 

The  report  of  the  registrar  general  in  1838  (when 
Irish  mothers  starved  themselves  in  order  to  feed  their 
little  ones)  says,  that  in  Manchester  city  alone,  thirteen 
thousand  three  hundred  and  sixty-two  children  perished 
in  seven  years,  over  and  above  the  natural  mortality ; 
and  this  owing  to  the  neglect  of  mothers,  and  the 
practice  of  giving  infants  laudanum,  that  they  might 
be  less  troublesome.  The  registrar  should,  moreover, 
have  thrown  the  blame  of  many  of  these  cases  upon 
the  husbands,  and  the  cotton  lords,  and  white-slave 
drivers,  who  kept  many  of  these  mothers  so  hard  at 
work  that  they  had  no  time  to  nurse  their  infants,  but 
left  them  crowded  in  with  some  old  hag-nurse.  How- 
ever, it  is  in  Saxondom  that  these  horrors  have  oc- 
curred in  every  age.  It  is  nothing  new. 

All  the  varied  exhibitions  of  human  vanity  sink  into 
mere  commonplace  beside  the  vain-glorious  boasting 
of  the  English  people  about  their  progress  and  en- 
lightenment. We  could  understand  the  exultation  of  a 
rich,  ignorant,  coarse  brute,  who  had  cut  throats  and 
enriched  himself  with  the  plunder  of  his  neighbors. 
When  the  Saxon  shakes  his  well-filled  purse  of  gold 
in  our  eyes,  we  can  see  the  argument  and  acknowl- 
edge his  advantage,  although  we  may  question  the 
means  by  which  the  treasure  was  acquired.  But 
when  he  raises  up  his  filthy  carcass,  defiled  with  un- 
mentionable bestiality,  above  the  heads  of  other 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  303 


races,  and  calls  himself  an  apostle  from  God,  — when 
he  turns  over  the  leaves  of  the  sacred  volume  with 
fingers  reddened  in  the  blood  of  his  own  wife  and  her 
infant,  — when  he  talks  of  temperance  and  poverty 
through  that  glutton  throat  that  has  devoured  the 
meat  snatched  from  the  lips  of  starving  Irish  children, 

— when  he  mouths  and  mouths  again  and  again  at 
the  adorable  name  that  makes  hell  tremble  and  the 
heavens  to  move,  — when  he  talks  of  Christ,  and  in 
the  same  breath  slanders  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mother, 

— when  in  a snivelling  tone  he  quotes  the  lowly 
Saviour’s  humility,  while  his  own  heart  swells  with 
English  insolence,  and  hatred,  and  contempt  of  Irish 
poverty,  — when  he  talks  of  Christianity  while  tram- 
pling on  the  cross,  the  standard  of  Christ,  — when,  in 
short,  we  see  England  calling  herself  Christian,  and 
affecting  to  convert  Ireland,  while  her  own  walls 
are  placarded  with  atheism,  and  the  vitals  of  her  so- 
ciety ulcerated  with  all  manner  of  crime,  I cannot 
find  words  to  express  my  horror  of  such  blasphemous 
hypocrisy. 

If  England  is  not  the  prostitute  drunk  with  the 
blood  of  nations,  and  murdering  her  own  offspring, 
I don’t  know  where  she  is.  Scripture  says  that 
“ the  heathen  is  devoid  of  natural  affection,”  and  we 
believe  that  in  no  country  nor  age  can  there  be  found 
a more  cold-blooded,  white-livered  pack  of  dogs  than 
are  to  be  found  among  the  English ; nor  could  we  find 
any  where  — no,  not  even  among  the  Hottentots,  nor 
among  the  mangy  dogs  of  the  East  — a more  revolt- 


304  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

ing  class  than  the  Saxon  mothers  of  England.  Eng- 
lish history  proves  that  material  progress  cannot  hu- 
manize an  aboriginally  savage  race. 

When  the  bull-necked  Luther  repented  of  his  vows 
and  sought  a wife,  and  when  the  old  Saxon  instinct 
reasserted  itself  in  the  reformation  of  England,  good 
men  predicted  that  the  lust-built,  blood-built,  robbery- 
built  church  would  produce  a heretical  brood  of  inhu- 
manity. Mammon  became  the  god  of  England,  aristo- 
cratic pride  became  the  ruling  spirit  of  England,  and 
beastly  vice  became  the  distinctive  peculiarity  of  Eng- 
land. Still  the  English  press  sought  to  conceal  the 
national  leprosy  by  spreading  before  the  eyes  of  the 
world  the  golden  robe  of  national  prosperity. 

The  Times  endeavored  to  draw  attention  from  Eng- 
lish infamy  by  foul-mouthed  attacks  on  the  Christian 
priesthood  and  virtuous  people  of  Ireland.  But  now 
that  the  last  bond  of  humanity  — the  love  of  a moth- 
er for  her  child  — is  broken  in  Protestant  England,  — 
now  that  the  infant  must  be  taken  from  the  murderous 
embrace  of  its  own  Saxon  mother, — now  that  the 
root  of  all  society  is  rotten  to  the  very  core,  — now 
that  hell  yawns  beneath,  and  the  vengeance  of  heaven 
threatens  above,  England  confesses  before  the  world 
the  deep  damnation  of  her  heathenism. 

This  is  the  England,  the  model  nation , that  was  set 
up  for  an  example  of  Papist  nations  in  general,  and 
Celtic  Ireland  in  particular.  This  is  the  England  that 
sent  us  white-chokered,  smooth-tongued  preachers  of 
Protestantism.  This  is  the  England  that  robs  us, 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  805 

throttles  ns,  sets  & law  church  over  us,  to  consume  the 
substance  of  the  poor  and  insult  the  holy  faith  of 
Christendom,  and  tells  us  that  we  must  be  united  to 
her  and  incorporated  with  her  forever,  bone  of  her  rot- 
ten bone,  and  flesh  of  her  bloated  flesh.  O God,  send 
us  a deliverer  before  Ireland  loses  her  virtue  and  her 
ancient  nationality.  Send  us  famine,  plague,  war, 
death,  any  thing  but  this  increasing  connection  with 
England.  We  ask  not  vengeance  for  ages  of  penal 
torture,  but  only  separation  from  beastly,  perfidious 
Albion,  and  the  whitewashed  hypocrisy  of  Exeter 
Hall. 

I find  in  Dickens’s  Household  Words,  April,  1850,  a 
very  good  summary  of  English  history.  It  is  intend- 
ed as  an  answer  to  those  who  lament  the  degeneracy 
of  English  morals,  and  fondly  regret  the  good  old 
times  of  Merry  England.  I quote  it  because  it  is 
written  by  an  Englishman.  It  proves  that  the  English 
always  were  as  they  are  now  — savages. 

“ In  the  reign  of  George  III.,  men  were  hanged  in 
dozens,  almost  weekly,  for  paltry  thefts,  when  a nurs- 
ing woman  was  dragged  to  the  gallows  with  her  child 
at  her  breast,  for  shop-lifting  to  the  value  of  a shilling. 

“ In  the  two  or  three  reigns  previous,  the  prisons 
and  prison  discipline  were  barbarous.  Unfortunate 
debtors  confined  indiscriminately  with  felons,  in  the 
midst  of  filth,  vice,  and  misery  unspeakable ; crimi- 
nals in  the  condemned  cell  under  sentence  of  death 
tippling  with  the  ordinary  for  their  pot  companion  ; 
flogging  a common  punishment  of  women  convicted 

26* 


306  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

of  larceny.  What  say  you  of  the  times  when  Lon- 
don streets  were  absolutely  dangerous,  and  the  passen- 
ger ran  the  risk  of  being  hustled  and  robbed  even  in 
the  daytime  ; when  not  only  Hounslow  and  Bagshot 
Heath,  but  the  public  road,  swarmed  with  robbers, 
and  a stage  coach  was  as  frequently  plundered  as  a 
hen  roost ; when,  indeed,  4 the  road  ’ was  considered 
the  legitimate  resource  of  a gentleman  in  difficulties, 
and  a highwayman  was  commonly  called  captain , 
if  not  respected  accordingly ; when  cock-fighting, 
bear-baiting,  and  bull-baiting  were  popular,  nay,  fash- 
ionable amusements  ; when  the  bulk  of  the  landed 
gentry  could  barely  read  and  write,  and  divided  their 
time  between  fox-hunting  and  guzzling  ; when  a duel- 
list  was  a hero,  and  it  was  an  honor  to  have  4 killed 
your  man  ; ’ when  a gentleman  could  hardly  open  his 
mouth  without  uttering  a filthy  or  profane  oath  ; when 
the  country  was  continually  in  peril  of  a civil  war 
through  a disputed  succession,  and  two  murderous 
insurrections,  followed  by  more  murderous  executions, 
actually  took  place.  This  era  of  inhumanity,  shame- 
lessness, brigandage,  brutality,  and  personal  and  politi- 
cal insecurity,  what  say  you  of  it  ? Queen  Anne’s,  a 
reign  of  favoritism  and  court  trickery  at  home  and 
profitless  war  abroad ; the  time  of  Bolingbroke,  and 
Harley,  and  Churchill’s  intrigues ; the  reign  of  Sarah, 
Duchess  of  Marlborough,  and  Mrs.  Masham. 

44  William  III.,  war,  war  — nothing  but  war. 

44  James  II.,  when  Judge  Jeffreys  sat  on  the  bench  ; 
when  Monmouth’s  rebellion  was  followed  by  the 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  307 

bloody  assizes.  Charles  II.,  with  a court  full  of  riot 
and  debauchery  ; a palace  much  less  decent  than  any 
modern  casino  ; while  Scotch  Covenanters  were  having 
their  legs  crushed  in  the  4 boots,’  under  the  auspices 
and  personal  superintendence  of  his  royal  highness  the 
Duke  of  York.  The  time  of  Titus  Oates,  Bedloe,  and 
Dangerfield,  and  their  sham  plots,  with  the  hangings, 
drawings,  and  quarterings  on  perjured  evidence  that 
followed  them  ; when  Russell  and  Sidney  were  ju- 
dicially murdered ; the  public  money  wasted  by 
roguery  and  embezzlement,  while  sailors  lay  starving 
in  the  streets  for  want  of  their  just  pay. 

u Cromwell’s  reign,  the  most  brutal  period  of  all. 

“ Charles  I.,  endeavoring  to  assert  arbitrary  power. 
Next,  the  Parliament,  fighting  against  him  in  the  open 
field  ; his  death. 

“ James  L,  gunpowder  plot,  burning  witches. 

“ Good  Queen  Bess  and  the  Ecclesiastical  Commis- 
sion, with  its  power  of  imprisonment,  rack  and  tor- 
ture ; Roman  Catholics  and  dissenters  butchered, 
fined,  and  imprisoned  for  their  opinions  ; and  charita- 
ble ladies  butchered,  too,  for  giving  them  shelter  in  the 
sweet  compassion  of  their  hearts  ; Mary,  Queen  of 
Scots,  murdered  in  those  days,  whose  emblems  are 
cropped  ears,  pillory,  stocks,  thumbscrews,  gibbet,  axe, 
chopping  block,  and  scavenger’s  daughter. 

“ Henry  VIII.  — Richard  III.,  war  of  Roses  ; when 
Jack  Cade  marched  upon  London  ; when  we  were 
disgracefully  driven  out  of  France  under  Henry  VI., 
or  as  disgracefully  went  marauding  there  under  Hen- 


308  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

ry  V.  Richard  II.,  assassination,  and  the  battles, 
burnings,  massacres,  and  cruel  torments  and  atrocities 
which  form  the  sum  of  the  Plantagenet  reigns ; 
John’s  dental  operations  on  the  Jews;  forest  laws 
and  curfew  under  the  Norman  kings.  Over  all  that 
period  somebody  or  other  was  constantly  committing 
high  treason,  and  there  was  a perpetual  exhibition  of 
heads  on  London  Bridge  and  Temple  Bar,  Danish 
ravage  and  slaughter,  Saxon  invasion.” 

The  London  Magazine  and  Journal  of  Educational 
Science,  February,  1837,  says, — 

“ In  the  earlier  periods  of  our  history,  during  the 
times  of  the  Saxons , the  predominant  crimes  of  the 
age  were  of  an  atrocious  character.  Assassinations, 
the  plundering  of  whole  towns  and  districts,  and  bare- 
faced perjuries,  were  offences  of  ordinary  occurrence 
by  persons  of  condition.  The  punishment  of  delin- 
quents was  either  shockingly  cruel  or  strangely  incon- 
sistent with  modern  notions  of  penal  justice.  The 
horrible  torture  of  burning  out  the  eyes  was  not  only 
inflicted  for  delinquency,  but  sometimes  merely  to  in- 
capacitate a rival.  Although  theft  to  the  amount  of 
twelve  pence  was  a capital  offence,  yet  the  taking  away 
of  life  might  be  commuted  for  a pecuniary  penalty. 
This  varied  with  the  rank  of  the  sufferer.  A stranger 
might  be  killed  if  he  went  through  a wood  without 
first  blowing  his  horn.  There  were  laws  made  for  the 
protection  of  the  stranger,  against  whom  the  Saxons 
were  very  inhospitable  and  unjust.  The  forest  laws 
were  shockingly  severe.  For  killing  a royal  stag  a 
freeman  became  a slave,  and  the  serf  lost  his  life. 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  809 


“ Alfred  and  one  or  two  others  were  exceptions  to 
the  general  character  of  the  Saxon  kings,  who  were 
generally  too  much  engaged  in  war  to  attend  to  the 
domestic  government  of  the  country.  After  the  con- 
quest, this  state  of  things  was  somewhat  improved ; 
but  in  1425,  an  act  of  Parliament  was  passed,  in 
which  it  is  recited  6 that  many  evils,  as  murders,  rob- 
beries, and  manslaughters,  have  been  committed 
heretofore  in  the  city,  by  night  and  by  day,  and  peo- 
ple have  been  beaten,  and  evil  treated , and  other  mis- 
chances have  befallen  against  the  king’s  peace.  It 
is  therefore  enjoined  that  none  be  so  hardy  as  to  be 
found  going  or  wandering  about  the  streets  after 
curfew  tolled  at  St.  Martin’s  le  Grand,  with  sword 
or  buckler,  or  other  arms  for  doing  mischief,  or  where- 
of evil  suspicion  might  arise,  nor  any  in  any  other 
manner,  unless  he  be  a great  man,  or  other  lawful  per- 
son of  good  repute,  or  their  certain  messenger  having 
their  warrant  to  go  from  one  to  another  with  lantern 
in  hand.’  ” 

Previous  to  the  time  of  the  reformation,  the  state 
of  society  in  England  was  fearfully  rotten,  as  we  learn 
from  various  sources.  Seventy-two  thousand  rogues 
and  thieves,  Wade  informs  us,  were  put  to  death  in 
the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.  These  robbers  often  strolled 
about  the  country  in  bands  of  three  or  four  hundred, 
robbing  and  murdering. 

The  cause  of  these  outrages  may  be  traced  to  the 
abolition  of  villeinage  — the  Saxon  set  free  showing 
his  character. 


810  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


CHAPTER  XV. 

DOMESTIC  ECONOMY. 

I would  be  very  sorry  to  obtrude  myself  into  the 
domestic  life  of  the  English,  were  it  not  incumbent 
upon  me  to  defend  poor,  robbed,  ragged,  slandered 
Erin.  Retaliation  is  but  a weak  argument ; still  it  is 
lawful  as  long  as  it  is  assumed  that  cleanliness  and  do- 
mestic economy  are  the  peculiar  and  inherent  gifts  of 
the  Anglo-Saxon  woman,  while  everlasting  filth  and 
improvidence  are  the  inherent  faults  of  the  Irish 
woman,  and  the  Celts  generally.  If  English  writers 
had  any  Christian  charity,  they  might  see  that  poverty 
and  ignorance  are  the  parents  of  dirt  and  improvi- 
dence, and  that  these  vices  are  not  peculiar  faculties 
with  cranial  organs  in  any  race.  The  English,  like 
the  Irish,  are  clean  and  tidy  in  exact  proportion  as 
they  are  able  to  buy  soap.  There  is  no  need  of  any 
English  cant  or  snivelling  rigmarole  to  explain  an  ob- 
vious fact.  Cleanliness  arises  from  an  animal  in- 
stinct in  the  royal  chamber  as  well  as  in  the  dog’s  ken- 
nel, and  this  instinct  is  exercised  where  the  means  of 
comfort  are  enjoyed. 

In  former  times,  when  the  English  had  not  acquired 
their  neighbors’  goods,  — when  negroes  were  free,  and 
Indians  unprotected , then  English  men  and  women 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  £11 

were  poor  and  dirty ; yes,  positively  filthy  in  their  per- 
sons and  in  their  houses.  “ The  fine  old  English  gen- 
tleman ” was  crawled  over,  and  his  house  was  like  a 
pig-sty : unlike  the  cabin  of  the  Irish  peasant,  the 
ancestral  mansion  of  the  English  squire  was  positively 
stinking.  Erasmus,  who  was  on  a visit  to  England, 
and  who  was  certainly  not  in  the  worst  English 
houses,  says,  “ Their  floors  are  of  clay,  strewn  with 
rushes,  among  which  lie,  unmolested , a collection  of 
hog’s  grease,  fragments  of  bones,  dirt  of  swine,  dogs 
and  cats,  and  of  every  thing  that  is  nauseous.” 

The  elder  Scaliger  testifies  to  the  same  state  of 
matters  in  the  English  gentlemen’s  houses,  and  says, 
that  “ in  England  he  could  not  find  so  much  of  the 
marks  of  civilization  as  convenience  to  wash  his 
hands.” 

Wade  says,  (in  his  History  of  the  Working  Classes, 
which  every  one  should  read,)  “ The  private  vices  of 
the  Saxons  were  those  of  half-savage  men.  Super- 
stitious, slothful,  sensual,  addicted  to  gluttony  and 
drunkenness,  without  taste  or  refinement,  mean  and 
wretched  in  their  attire,  and  their  dwellings  void  of 
comfort  — such  are  the  peculiarities  attributed  by  most 
writers  to  their  moral  and  domestic  economy.” 

The  same  learned  English  historian  goes  on  to  say 
that  the  Saxons  made  no  advance  until  the  Norman 
invasion.  The  French  settlers  afforded  an  example  of 
elegance,  cleanliness,  comfort,  and  economy  “ in  their 
festivities,  ‘in  their  apparel,  and  in  their  whole  expen- 
diture.” “ Instead  of  wasting  the  most  of  their 


812  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

wealth  (as  the  Saxons  did)  in  eating  and  drinking, 
their  pride  was  to  devote  a greater  part  of  it  to  works 
of  permanent  utility,  or  embellishment,  &c.”  (P.  7.) 

But  it  would  appear  from  what  I have  already 
quoted,  that  English  filth  still  held  its  ground  even  in 
the  days  of  Erasmus. 

“ The  Anglo-Saxon  cities  appear  by  Doomsday 
Book  to  have  been  at  the  conquest  little  better  than 
villages.  “ Malmesbury  tells  us  that  the  great  distinc- 
tion between  the  Anglo-Saxon  nobility  and  the  French 
and  Norman  was,  that  the  latter  built  magnificent  and 
stately  castles,  whereas  the  former  consumed  their  im- 
mense fortunes  in  riot  and  feasting,  and  in  mean 
houses.”  ( Hume .) 

Wade  says  that  at  the  time  of  the  Tudors  great 
improvements  had  been  made  in  the  building  of  ca- 
thedrals and  castles.  “ But  the  spirit  of  improvement 
did  not  extend  lower  under  the  Tudors.  The  houses 
of  gentlemen  [fine  old  English  gentlemen]  continued 
sordid , the  huts  of  the  peasantry  poor  and  wretched. 
The  former  were  thatched  buildings,  composed  of 
wood ; the  latter  were  slight  frames  prepared  in  the 
forest,  and  covered  with  clay.”  “ The  cities  were  built 
in  the  fashion  of  an  existing  Egyptian  or  Syrian  town, 
(streets  dark  and  narrow,)  and,  combined  with  the 
dirty  habits  of  the  inhabitants,  doubtless  contributed 
to  the  frequent  plagues  of  England.” 

Hallam,  speaking  of  England  after  the  Norman  con- 
quest, says,  “ It  is  an  error  to  suppose  that  the  English 
gentry  were  lodged  in  stately,  or  even  in  well-sized 
houses.” 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  313 


The  only  buildings  of  note  were  the  castles  of  the 
feudal  French  lords,  and  the  cathedrals  built  by  Ital- 
ian and  French  architects.  The  houses  of  the  Eng- 
lish gentry  were  “ a frame  of  massive  timber,  inde- 
pendent of  walls,  and  resembled  the  inverted  hull  of  a 
large  ship.”  The  principal  beams  were  set  in  the 
ground. 

In  the  Saxon  ages  the  houses  were  all  of  mud  or 
timber  — no  windows,  nor  chimney,  but  only  a hole 
in  the  top  to  let  in  light  and  let  out  smoke. 

The  Saxon  savages  had  destroyed  all  the  cities, 
mansions,  and  temples  of  the  Romano-British  period. 
After  the  French  settlement,  the  art  of  building  with 
brick,  which  had  been  lost  since  the  Roman  dominion, 
was  introduced,  probably  from  Flanders. 

From  the  miserable  inventories  quoted  by  Hallam, 
it  appears  that  the  Saxon  nobility  and  gentry  were 
housed  no  better  than  the  red  Indians. 

The  old  Saxon  gentry  ate  with  their  hands  off  a 
bare  plank ; spoons  were  introduced  about  the  time  of 
Edward  the  Confessor ; the  fork  was  not  yet  brought 
into  use,  but  this  invention  came  in  due  course.  In 
Ben  Jonson  is  the  following  : — 

“ Sledge . Forks  ! what  be  they  ! 

Meercraft.  The  laudable  use  of  forks  . 

Brought  into  custom  here,  as  they  are  in  Italy, 

To  the  sparing  of  napkins.” 

If  we  believe  some  English  historians,  the  English 
people  were  a gentle,  effeminate,  and  refined  Christian 

27 


314  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

nation,  when  the  filthy,  brutal  Danes  came  upon  them. 
But  according  to  Wallingford,  and  other  old  authors, 
the  Danes  were  remarkable  for  combing  their  hair  once 
a day,  changing  their  linen,  and  bathing  once  a week. 
The  Danes  had  acquired  French  dress  and  customs. 
“ They  rendered  themselves  so  agreeable  to  the  fair 
sex,  that  they  debauched  the  wives  and  daughters  of 
the  English,  and  dishonored  many  families  ” — no 
difficult  task. 

It  was  while  the  Danes  were  bathing  that  the  dirty 
Saxons  massacred  them  in  1002. 

It  appears,  then,  that  the  fine  old  English  gentleman 
did  not  comb  his  hair,  as  we  find  him  staring  at  the 
machine  by  which  the  Dane  performed  the  operation. 
These  pagan  Danes  were  considered  great  Frenchified 
dandies  because  they  washed  themselves.  The  an- 
cestral log  cabins  and  mud-holes  of  the  Saxons  were 
ignorant  of  soap  in  those  days. 

An  old  tenure  in  England  binds  the  vassal  to  find 
straw  for  the  king’s  bed.  Straw  and  a blanket  was 
the  bed  of  the  English  lady  and  gentleman.  (See  the 
copies  of  old  pictures  in  the  London  Art  Journal , 1853, 
showing  the  old  English  gentry  in  bed  without  night 
linen.) 

Macaulay  paints  the  boorish  condition  of  the  old 
English  gentleman,  and  the  low  state  of  the  gentle- 
woman, and  the  filthy  condition  of  their  houses,  even 
after  they  had  been  under  the  influence  of  French  civ- 
ilization. 

The  English  squire,  he  says,  “ troubled  himself  little 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  315 


about  decorating  his  abode  ; and  if  he  attempted  dec- 
oration, seldom  produced  any  thing  but  deformity. 
The  litter  of  a farm  yard  gathered  under  the  window 
of  his  bed  chamber,  and  the  cabbages  and  goose- 
berry bushes  grew  close  to  his  hall  door,”  &c. 

Such  being  the  condition  of  the  fine  old  English 
gentleman,  with  straw  bed,  no  night  linen,  the  pig  in 
the  parlor,  and  the  dung  heap  under  his  nose,  what 
must  have  been  the  state  of  the  Gurths,  the  swine- 
herds, who  wore  iron  collars  with  the  owners5  names 
engraved  thereon  ? 

The  Saxon  commonalty  used  to  live  in  mud  huts 
half  under  ground.  They  did  not  call  them  houses, 
but  holes . At  the  present  day  you  may  hear  one  fel- 
low inviting  another  to  come  to  his  hole , this  name  for 
house  being  still  in  use. 

The  Saxon  nobles  and  gentry  lived,  like  Tartar  or 
Indian  chiefs,  in  large  mud  and  stone  huts.*  But 
generally  the  mansion  was  the  log  cabin  described  by 
Hallam. 

The  slaves  who  formed  the  great  bulk  of  the  An- 
glo-Saxon nation  lived  in  cavities  of  earth,  or  holes , as 
a low  Englishman  still  calls  his  dwelling.  They  had  no 
chairs,  no  knives  and  forks,  no  bed  but  straw.  Their 
houses  were,  in  fact,  the  same  as  their  ancestors’,  and 
the  savages  in  the  north  of  Europe.  They  were 
troglodites  like  the  Hottentots,  and  for  a thousand 
years,  until  the  French  came,  the  mass  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  slaves  were  dressed  in  the  skins  of  wild  beasts, 
— wolves,  foxes,  &c.,  — in  which  the  country  then 


816  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


abounded.  It  must  be  said,  however,  to  the  credit  of 
the  Saxons,  that  they  imagined  heaven  a cleanly  place, 

where  thev  would  be  free  from  vermin. 

«/ 

Dr.  Johnson,  in  the  introduction  to  his  Dictionary, 
quotes  an  old  Saxon  poem,  a description  of  heaven. 
After  mentioning  the  joy  of  eating  and  drinking , it 
says,  — 

“Nor  is  there  fly,  flea,  or  louse, 

In  clothes,  down  bed,  or  house.” 

It  would  appear  from  this  that  vermin  were  a na- 
tional torment,  when  the  poet  considered  it  necessa- 
ry to  represent  the  blessed  in  heaven  as  free  from 
them. 

That  the  Gothic  race  was  very  filthy  we  learn  from 
the  old  Roman  Sidonius,  who  describes  their  dirty 
persons  covered  with  hogs’  grease.  Writing  to  a 
friend  he  says,  “ Blessed  are  your  ears  that  do  not  hear 
them,*  blessed  are  your  eyes  that  do  not  see  them, 
blessed  is  your  nose  that  does  not  smell  them.” 

The  Saxons  in  England  and  the  Lowlands  lived 
chiefly  on  hogs’  flesh,  a diet  productive  of  skin  disease 
and  vermin.  When  the  French  settlers  conquered 
and  somewhat  civilized  the  English,  they  got  in  ad- 
vance of  the  Lowland  Scots,  and  then  they  called  their 
northern  brothers  lousy,  itchy  Scotchmen,  who  were 
still  in  a savage  state. 

The  lousy  Scots  referred  to  were  their  own  Saxon 
race  in  the  Lowlands,  because  the  English  had  little  or 
no  social  connection  with  the  Highlanders.  The  Low- 
land Saxon  dialect  is  full  of  filthy  proverbs  and  ex- 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  817 

pressions,  which  could  only  originate  among  a very 
filthy  people. 

The  heather  beds,  the  kilt  dress,  and  the  more  vege- 
table diet  of  the  Highlanders  made  them  a more 
cleanly  race.  As  a general  rule  the  Lowland  house- 
wives are  now  tidier  than  the  Highland  or  Irish,  be- 
cause latterly  they  have  not  been  so  much  robbed  by 
the  exterminating  government,  and  the  Lowland  lairds 
being  resident,  and  of  the  same  race  and  religion  as 
the  workers,  they  promote  their  comfort  and  wel- 
fare. When  “ The  Cottagers  of  Glenburnie  ” was 
written,  the  Lowland  Scotch  housewife  was  a dirty ' 
trollop. 

The  poor  Irish  are  cleaner  than  the  poor  Saxons, 
because  the  former  are  a noble,  civilized  race  reduced 
to  poverty.  The  latter  were  never  any  thing  but 
slaves  and  savages.  And  I can  aver  that  the  poor 
Lowland  Scotch  in  Glasgow,  and  the  poor  English  in 
Newcastle-on-Tyne  and  other  English  cities,  are  very 
filthy.  In  the  latter  place  the  Board  of  Health  had  to 
order  that  no  night  soil  should  be  thrown  out  of  win- 
dows into  the  street. 

The  condition  of  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow,  until 
lately,  cannot  be  described,  without  making  the  reader 
nauseate.  The  poor  low  English  that  crowd  the  cities 
are  a filthy-skinned  race,  that  will  not  wash  themselves 
even  on  Sunday,  while  you  see  the  poor  Irish,  outward- 
ly in  rags  and  patches,  going  with  a clean  skin,  and  a 
clean,  coarse  shirt,  to  assist  at  the  holy  sacrifice  of  the 
Mass. 


27* 


318  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


The  low  English  are  the  most  hopeless,  thriftless 
class  in  the  whole  world.  The  poorhouse  is  the  goal 
of  their  ambition.  The  poorhouses  were  forced  upon 
the  Irish,  and  thousands  perished  rather  than  submit 
to  the  disgrace  of  entering  them. 

The  Saxon  race,  that  is,  the  North  Germanic , and 
the  women  of  this  Saxon  race,  are  the  very  dregs  and 
offal  of  the  white  population  in  America.  They  are 
the  jackals  of  society.  These  flaxen-haired  German 
men  and  women,  called  “gutter-snipes”  are  lower 
than  the  race  with  black  wool.  They  go  about 
'gathering  up  every  rag,  bone,  or  piece  of  fat  offal  that 
they  can  pick  out  of  the  gutter.  Every  American 
knows  that  the  low  Germans  are  a mean,  beggarly 
race. 

Even  when  they  are  well  to  do,  they  send  out  their 
children  to  beg.  And  in  their  lodging  houses  the  Ger- 
man clerks  and  journeymen  feed  upon  the  refuse  bits 
of  bread  and  meat,  and  fat  drippings,  begged  at 
American  doors. 

The  Irish  who  are  able  to  earn  a dollar  by  the  hard- 
est labor  never  stoop  to  such  meanness. 

I only  state  what  is  a notorious  fact  — that  the  poor 
German  women  are  the  most  dirty  and  slovenly  in  the 
United  States. 

They  are  now  like  what  their  Anglo-Saxon  sisters 
were,  before  their  husbands  succeeded  in  their  business 
of  slave-selling. 

We  get  highly-perfumed  pictures  of  the  Irish  mud 
cabins  and  the  pigs  from  the  men  who  reduced  the 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  319 

the  once  noble  Irish  to  that  pitiable  state.  But  every 
one  who  really  knows  the  Irishman’s  cabin  can  testify 
that  its  beds  are  clean,  and  that  the  pig  house  and  the 
manure  heap  are  allowed  near  the  house  because  the 
peat  charcoal,  or  ashes  from  the  fire,  has  a deodorizing 
power,  and  completely  destroys  unpleasant  smells.  I 
know  that  I often  wished  myself  in  an  Irishman’s 
cabin,  when  in  some  English  fine  house,  and  the  pipes 
of  the  water  closet  going  wrong:  they  will  go  wrong 
in  thelDest  regulated  families.  But  I must  finish  this 
chapter  on  dirt,  which  the  dirty  observations  of  Eng- 
lishmen have  called  forth.  I will  only  add,  that  if 
John  Bull  had  not  such  a stomach  for  the  flesh  of  the 
unclean  animal,  poor  Paddy  would  have  a better  cabin, 
and  less  care  in  the  raising  of  hogs  for  the  English 
market,  to  pay  English  taxes. 

Poor  Paddy  sells  his  pigs  to  the  English,  and  is 
obliged  to  give  back  the  money  in  the  shape  of  rent 
and  taxes.  No  wonder  his  cabin  is  still  a mud  one. 

There  is  nothing  that  the  English  boast  of  more 
than  their  hospitality ; and  certainly  the  English  gen- 
tlemen of  cities  are  generally  understood  to  be  hospi- 
table, as  men  of  the  world  are  in  all  countries.  In 
the  country  mansions,  hospitality  and  courtesy  marked 
the  French  settlers.  The  monasteries,  too,  were  pe- 
culiarly animated  by  hospitality,  because  they  were  in 
fact  the  public  alms  houses  of  the  day.  But  the  An- 
glo-Saxon lord  and  squire  was  a repulsive  savage,  who 
punished  with  death  any  one  who  dared  to  approach 
his  den  without  first  blowing  his  horn  and  getting  per- 


820  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

mission  to  enter.  Perhaps  the  reason  of  this  was  ow- 
ing less  to  Saxon  boorishness  than  to  the  fact  that  the 
English  were  at  all  times  a nation  of  thieves,  and  no 
man  could  trust  another  to  approach  his  premises,  or 
enter  his  house,  without  danger  of  having  his  throat' 
cut  and  his  place  pillaged. 

That  this  was  the  condition  of  England  during  the 
whole  period  of  Saxon  rule  is  clearly  established  by 
history.  The  Saxons  were,  as  a nation,  cold-hearted 
and  inhospitable. 

Kemble  shows  that  a feeling  of  humanity  crept  in 
among  the  Anglo-Saxons  along  with  the  influence  of 
the  church.  There  were  laws  made  for  the  protection 
of  the  stranger,  against  whom,  especially  the  Jew,  the 
Saxons  were  very  inhospitable  and  unjust. 

The  Saxonized  English  of  the  present  day  — the 
John  Bulls  and  country  boors  — are  also  an  inhospita- 
ble race ; partly  because  they  are  naturally  reserved 
and  selfish,  and  partly  because  the  English  are  still  the 
greatest  nation  of  thieves  in  Europe.  (See  statistics 
of  crime  in  Wade’s  History  of  the  Middle  and  Working" 
Classes.) 

Englishmen  were  and  are  inhospitable,  because 
Englishmen  were  and  are  thieves. 

• At  the  present  day,  the  poor  way-worn  Irish  reaper 
is  often  denied  a cup  of  cold  water  at  the  English 
homestead.  These  reapers  travel  in  squadrons  for 
mutual  protection  from  the  Anglo-Saxon  savages  of 
the  nineteenth  century.  If  they  went  in  small  parties 
they  would  be  beaten,  and  perhaps  murdered  at  some 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS. 


821 


cross  road,  where  some  of  the  natives  would  raise  the 
/ 

war  whoop  against  them  — not  altogether  because 
they  are  Irish,  but  because  they  are  strangers.  I have 
heard  journeymen  in  Belfast  and  Glasgow,  who  had 
tramped  through  England,  say,  that  in  country  places 
they  were  often  chased  for  their  lives.  I was  informed 
by  English  gentlemen  in  Newcastle-on-Tyne,  that  a 
stranger,  especially  if  he  were  well  dressed  and  worth 
plundering,  dare  not  go  into  the  mining  districts,  where 
the  men  are  all  of  Saxon  and  Danish  blood. 

This  Anglo-Saxon  hospitality  is  so  notorious  that 
Punch  one  time  gave  a drawing  of  two  Saxon  boors, 
ill  made,  brutish-looking  fellows,  with  the  peculiar 
carnivorous  jaws  of  the  race;  a gentleman  is  seen  in 
the  distance  ; one  of  these  amiable  savages  says,  — 

“ ’Oos  ’im,  Bill  ? ” 

“ A stranger.” 

“ Well,  ?eave  ’arf  a brick  at  ’im.” 

I must  repeat,  however,  that  there  are  a great  many 
generous  and  gentle  people  in  England,  and  the  num- 
ber of  these  increase  as  we  leave  Saxondom,  that  is, 
the  north-east  and  eastern  counties. 

The  English  are  held  up  as  a peculiarly  sociable,  do- 
mestic people.  While  the  Frenchman  is  away  at  the 
cafe , John  Bull  is  at  his  own  fireside,  and  his  wife  and 
little  ones  about  him,  singing,  “ Home,  sweet  home.” 
But  this  air  is  a borrowed  one,  a Sicilian  hymn,  and 
the  domesticity  of  the  Englishman  a delusion. 

The  Scotch  are  a very  domestic,  kind-hearted  people 
at  their  “ ain  fireside,”  and  they  take  their  wives  and 


322  CONDITION  OP  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 

children  out  with  them  : so  do  the  Irish,  the  French 
provincials,  the  Germans  of  the  Rhine  particularly, 
and  above  all  the  Americans ; but  the  Englishmen,  I 
can  safely  say,  spend  less  time  at  home , sweet  home , 
and  take  their  wives  out  less,  than  any  other  nation  in 
the  whole  of  Europe.  The  English  aristocrat  spends 
his  life  at  the  club  ; the  man  of  business  shuts  up  shop, 
and  goes  to  the  hotel,  theatre,  &c.,  the  tradesman  to 
the  tap  room,  where  you  may  watch  them  sitting  for 
hours,  each  man  drinking  by  himself,  and  paying  for 
what  he  himself  takes.  They  never  invite  each  other 
to  drink,  as  men  and  Christians  do  in  Ireland  and 
America. 

They  discuss  politics,  — that  is,  the  sayings  and  do- 
ings of  the  aristocrats,  — or  they  retail  beastly  anec- 
dotes, or  they  talk  about  eating.  This  is  the  literal  truth. 
You  will  never  see  a lady  in  a public  restaurant  along 
with  the  gentlemen.  In  the  tap  rooms,  you  will  never 
see  a tradesman  bring  in  his  wife  or  daughter,  as  the 
French  and  other  nations  do.  The  reason  is,  that  an 
Englishman  dare  not  bring  his  family  into  a company 
of  Englishmen  ; they  would  be  insulted,  or  they  would 
place  too  intolerable  a restraint  upon  the  conversation. 
This  observation  also  applies  more  or  less  to  the  Or- 
ange gentry  in  Ireland,  and  the  Irish  who  are  Anglified. 
Ladies  must  clear  out  after  dinner. 

I have  spoken  of  what  is  the  general  rule  in  Eng- 
land. But  there  is  the  class  of  merchant  princes,  too 
high  to  go  to  hotels,  taverns,  &c.,  in  the  evenings, 
and  too  low  to  be  admitted  to  the  aristocratic  club 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  323 

room.  These  men  do  go  home,  and  such  homes,  for 
solid  elegance  and  real  comfort,  are  not  in  the  world. 
The  physique  you  will  observe  in  such  mansions  clear- 
ly marks  descent  from  the  Norman-French,  and  is  to- 
tally distinct  from  the  Anglo-Saxon,  or  the  man  of 
mixed  breed,  who  is  only  beginning  to  get  his  head 
above  water  after  the  wreck  of  his  nation  at  Hastings. 

The  mass  of  the  English  people  are  Saxonized  bar- 
barians, and  therefore  ladies  have  no  inducement,  if 
they  had  the  will,  to  mix  with  the  people  in  public  so- 
cial intercourse,  as  they  do  in  France  and  other  Celtic 
and  Celtified  countries.  In  Ireland  the  ladies  never 
fear  to  go  among  the  poorest  peasantry,  and  the  nuns 
go  into  the  lowest  alleys  of  the  cities ; but  as  a general 
rule,  Protestant  antipathy  and  the  vulgar  pride  of  the 
aristocrats  (whose  fathers  were  Cromwellian  troopers 
and  Dutch  fifers)  keep  them  from  mingling  with  the 
democracy,  many  of  whom  have  royal  blood  in  their 


veins. 


324  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


CHAPTER  XYI. 

CONCLUSION. 

I have  scarcely  alluded  to  the  noble  institutions  that 
refine  and  elevate  Celtic  women  — nor  to  the  many 
beautiful  and  endearing  traits  in  the  Celtic  household. 
Pagan  and  Christian  history  testify  that  this  race  is 
superior.  But  I make  no  invidious  boasting,  because 
I see  in  America  how  even  the  Celts  degrade,  where 
Saxon  influence  is  strong,  and  Catholicity  weak. 
The  Celts  are  gifted,  but  Christian  faith  transcends  all 
natural  endowments. 

The  Saxon  and  Germanic  race  abolished  the  institu- 
tion of  virginity,  and  even  destroyed  marriage  as  a 
holy  sacrament,  which  death  only  can  annul. 

Read  the  masterly  disquisitions  of  Balmez  on  this 
subject,  (Protestantism  and  Catholicity  compared  in 
their  Effects  on  the  Civilization  of  Europe.) 

u One,  with  one  only,  and  forever,”  is  the  Christian 
law,  which  the  ancient  Celts  readily  conformed  to,  and 
have  still  maintained. 

Without  this  law,  no  woman  or  child  is  secure 
against  the  capricious  lust  of  man. 

I have  now  shown  the  real  position  of  the  woman 
and  her  infant  among  the  Anglo-Saxons,  that  race  who, 
in  the  idiocy  of  self-conceit,  call  themselves  the  “ glo- 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS. 


325 


rious,  pious,  godlike  Saxons  ” — “ defenders  of  liberty 
and  civilization  ” — u angels  of  the  gospel ” — “ the 
foremost  race  on  earth ” — destined  to  occupy  and  rule 
the  whole  world. 

In  the  foregoing  historical  sketch,  we  have  seen  that 
the  pagan  Celts  retained  many  fragments  of  divine 
truth,  and  that  they  were  on  the  whole  a virtuous  peo- 
pie,  who  honored  and  elevated  the  female  character. 

But  having  no  positive  divine  guide,  having  no 
conservative  principle,  they  fell  into  corruption  when 
brought  in  contact  with  Gothic  and  eastern  animal- 
ism. Christianity  came  in  right  time  to  save  them, 
and  through  them  the  rest  of  mankind,  and  the  Celts 
generally  have  proved  faithful  to  their  divine  mission. 
The  history  of  the  Anglo-Saxons  and  the  continental 
Goths  depicts  them  as  mere  animalized  beings,  whose 
mythology,  as  Banier  remarks,  was  u the  most  filthy 
and  stupid  of  all.”  During  the  Catholic  Christian 
ages,  while  England  was  made  illustrious  by  many 
saints  and  noble  institutions,  the  mass  of  the  Saxons 
obstinately  remained  in  a half  pagan  state,  given  up 
to  slave-breeding,  infanticide,  the  sale  of  women  and 
children,  whipping  and  branding  naked  women,  chain- 
ing them  and  making  them  work  like  four-footed 
beasts  ; not  to  mention  the  general  practice  of  robbery 
and  murder,  and  other  crimes,  followed  as  regular  pro- 
fessions in  all  ranks  of  society,  during  the  whole  Saxon 
period  of  the  so-called  Catholic  Christian  England. 

But  the  truth  is,  that  two  thirds  of  the  Anglo-Sax- 
on population  were  always  in  a state  of  slavery,  while 

28 


326  CONDITION  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  AMONG 


the  masters  were  barbarous  tyrants.  The  Anglo-Sax- 
ons were  never  fully  Christianized ; they  turned  round 
with  the  greatest  ease  to  Protestantism  and  pagan- 
ism. Protestant  England  revived  all  the  worst  vices 
of  even  Saxon  heathenism  — witch-burning,  the 
whipping,  mutilation,  chaining,  branding,  and  sale  of 
women,  white  and  black  ; the  sale  of  woman’s  honor, 
both  by  husbands  and  parents  ; nudity  balls,  free-love- 
ism,  Mormonism,  and  crimes  against  nature  ; whole- 
sale incest,  as  discussed  over  Stuart  Wortley’s  Bill; 
wife-beating,  and  a.  want  of  faith  in  woman’s  virtue ; 
Orangeism,  and  a hatred  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  and  of 
nuns ; a general  tendency  to  brutalize  women  in  the 
public  institutions  and  factories  ; viftuous  girls  neglect- 
ed, and  prostitutes  preferred  before  married  women  as 
nurses ; wealth  and  title  preferred  before  legitimacy ; 
boys  and  young  women  tortured  in  prisons  and  poor- 
houses  ; infants  starved ; mothers  forcibly  separated 
from  their  children,  and  husbands  from  wives  ; poverty 
punished  as  a felony. 

The  English  have  been  the  most  self-debased  race 
in  Europe.  No  nation  but  the  Anglo-Saxons  made  a 
practice  of  selling  themselves  for  their  feed. 

The  Puritans  revived  the  slave  market,  and  the 
whipping  and  burning  of  defenceless  women.  They 
also  restored  the  old  Saxon  practice  of  murdering  in- 
fants, tearing  them  even  from  their  mothers’  wombs. 
“ The  mother  country  ” paid  the  red  Indians  to  per- 
petrate the  same  barbarities  on  Americans. 

Anglo-Saxon  women  resumed  their  old  pagan 


THE  CELTIC,  GOTHIC,  AND  OTHER  NATIONS.  327 


institutions  of  infanticide  and  abortion,  especially 
among  the  married . The  Anglo-Saxon  Mormons 
have  restored  polygamy.  This  same  race  have  also 
the  distinction  of  introducing  into  America  nudity 
balls,  free-loveism,  priest-hunting,  nunnery-sacking, 
church-burning  Orangeism,  with  the  shooting  and  roast- 
ing alive  of  helpless  men,  women,  and  children.  In 
short,  there  is  a scrofula  in  society  that  spreads  from 
the  pork-eating  race.  The  reader  has  had  ample  evi- 
dence from  English  authority,  that  populations  are 
brutalized  in  exact  proportion  as  they  are  Saxonized. 

The  Saxon  was  originally  as  low  a savage  as  the 
red  man.  Saxon  animalism,  pride,  sensuality,  and 
gluttony  are  still  unsubdued. 

I speak  of  the  race  contaminated  with  Saxon  blood ; 
a pure  Anglo-Saxon  race  has  no  existence.  It  is  a 
hybrid,  but  not  the  less  vicious. 

Here  is  a serious  question.  Can  Christianity  ever 
prevail  as  long  as  the  savage  blood  is  uneliminated  ? 
I doubt  it.  As  pagans,  the  Goths  brutalized  pagan- 
ism. As  Christians,  they  have  paganized  Christiani- 
ty. The  most  hopeless  feature  in  their  case  is  — hy- 
pocrisy. When  I see  these  Freelovers,  Mormonists, 
and  Orange  K.  N.’s,  parading  the  Bible,  I consider 
this  a sure  symptom  of  inveterate  ruffianism  and 
sensuality.  I have  no  hope  of  Pharisees  who  boast 
that  they  are  “ the  most  moral  and  enlightened  people 
on  earth.’5 

Humanity  may  rejoice  in  the  hope  of  Christian  re- 
vival, and  the  full  establishment  of  old  Celtic  law  in 


328  CELTIC  AND  GOTHIC  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN. 

America,  because  the  age  approaches  that  will  see 
America  essentially  Celtic.  Spanish  and  French 
blood  in  the  south,  Irish,  Scotch,  Welsh,  and  French 
blood  in  the  north,  is  killing  out  the  Gothic.  Even 
the  English  Pilgrims,  and  the  Virginians,  &c.,  came 
mostly  from  the  north-west,  west,  and  south-west,  the 
most  Celtic  parts  of  England,  also  from  Wales  ; not  to 
speak  of  the  Irish  women,  whose  names  are  lost,  but 
who  formed  a large  proportion  of  American  mothers. 

The  chaste  Irish,  even  in  their  distress,  are  the  most 
vigorous,  healthy,  and  fruitful  of  any  other  American 
class.  They  do  not  produce  abortions.  Their  sturdy 
numerous  children  do  not  pine  away  and  die.  This 
race  will  outlive  the  English  breed,  whose  decay  is 
seen  in  their  flat  chests  and  carious  teeth.  It  is  true 
that  many  Celts  become  Know  Nothings,  calling 
themselves  Anglo-Saxons ; but  nevertheless,  Celtic 
blood  extends,  and  will  ultimately  promote  all  that  is 
poetic,  musical,  beautiful,  good,  and  true.  Thanks  to 
the  virtuous  Irish  mothers  ! 

“ The  nations  are  fallen,  but  thou  art  still  young; 

Thy  sun  is  but  rising,  while  others  have  set ; 

And  though  slavery’s  cloud  o’er  thy  morning  has  hung, 

The  full  noon  of  freedom  shall  beam  round  thee  yet.” 


APPENDIX. 


M.  ROUSSEL  REVIEWED. 

The  article  below  is  a review,  by  the  well-known 
and  eminent  M.  Lemoinne,  (in  the  Journal  des  De- 
bats,) of  a recent  work  of  M.  Roussel,  an  eleve  of  the 
Genevan  school.  This  book  is  entitled  Catholic  and 
Protestant  Countries  regarded  under  the  threefold  As- 
pect of  Prosperity,  Learning,  and  Morality. 

It  has  been  M.  Roussel’s  purpose  to  contrast  the  Catholic 
and  Protestant  countries  in  the  triple  aspect  of  their  well-being, 
learning,  and  morality.  Unfortunately,  in  this  comparison, 
“ Morality,”  which  should  be  allotted  the  first  place,  holds  only 
the  last,  and  the  least ; u Learning  ” is  placed  in  the  second 
rank;  and,  as  in  the  title,  “Well-being”  is  paraded,  and,  so 
to  speak,  struts  preeminently  foremost.  We  shall  not  offend 
M.  Roussel  if  we  say  that,  fortunately,  he  can  hardly  be 
deemed  the  author  of  his  book  ; it  is  little  else  than  a confused 
mass  of  quotations,  taken  right  and  left,  and  selected  with  re- 
gard to  the  necessities  of  the  cause.  M.  Roussel  has,  in  this 
way,  compiled  two  volumes  of  extracts,  from  which  he  shows, 
with  a great  display  of  figures,  that  Protestants  are  infinitely 
more  happy  in  this  w^orld  than  Catholics ; that  they  have 
28*  (329)  ‘ 


330 


APPENDIX. 


larger  possessions,  more  stocks  and  shares,  more  silver  plate, 
more  coverings  both  for  the  body  and  the  feet.  Until  now,  we 
had  always  believed  that  at  the  day  of  judgment  God  would 
put  on  one  side  the  good,  and  on  the  other  the  wicked ; but, 
on  the  plan  of  M.  Roussel,  the  world  is  divided  into  two  dif- 
ferent classes,  viz.,  those  of  the  rich  and  fat,  and  of  the  poor 
and  lean.  God  will  not  try  the  reins  and  the  hearts,  but  the 
stomachs  of  men.  If  M.  Roussel  permitted  St.  Peter  to  guard 
the  entrance  of  paradise,  he  would  charge  him,  as  at  the  doors 
of  the  Tuileries,  to  admit  only  those  who  were  well  dressed 
and  respectable  looking ; in  his  theology,  in  order  to  be  saved, 
a decent  exterior  is  imperative. 

It  is  necessary  to  observe  the  complaisance  with  which  M. 
Roussel  details  the  accounts  of  all  the  Catholic  and  Protestant 
countries.  We  shall  at  once  dispute,  if  not  the  exactness,  at 
any  rate,  the  value  of  his  figures.  In  estimating  moral  ac- 
tions, there  can  be  no  greater  mistake  than  to  suppose  that 
two  and  two  necessarily  make  four : that  is  the  philosophy  of 
the  shop  and  of  the  counter.  God  calls  to  account  not  only 
for  crimes  which  are  committed  against  the  laws  of  men,  but 
also  for  those  which  are  committed  against  his  own  laws.  He 
sees  and  he  judges  the  motives  and  the  hearts  of  men,  while 
human  laws  can  only  see  and  reach  their  actions ; and  the 
most  virtuous  society  in  his  eyes  is  not  that,  perhaps,  to  which 
statistics  would  assign  the  prize  of  moral  and  good  conduct. 
There  is,  for  example,  a member  of  the  Academic  des  Sciences 
who  has  contrived  a map  of  France  divided  into  departments, 
and  has  colored  each  department  more  or  less  bright,  accord- 
ing to  the  extent  to  which  the  elements  of  education  are  im- 
parted within  it.  Let  M.  Roussel  make  use  of  this  plan  to 
reckon  the  number  of  Catholics  or  Protestants  who  know  how 
to  read  and  write  — so  be  it ; but  of  the  number  of  those  who 
shall  be  saved,  neither  M.  Roussel  nor  the  Academic  des  Sci- 
ences Morales  can  ever  know  any  thing. 

Let  us  put  aside,  then,  the  question  of  morality,  and  turn 
to  the  primitive  question  of  “ well-being.”  On  this  earth,  M. 


APPENDIX. 


331 


Roussel  and  Protestantism  reign  supreme  — they  are  the  rich- 
est. Look,  for  instance,  at  the  appearance  which  that  sad  and 
wretched  Ireland  presents  beside  her  Protestant  sisters.  M. 
Roussel  gives  us,  from  an  official  report,  an  account  of  the 
effects  of  a parish  of  four  thousand  souls,  “ all  Catholics,”  he 
takes  care  to  add ; and  these  four  thousand  Catholics  possess 
among  them  “ one  wagon,  one  plough,  sixteen  harrows,  eight 
saddles,  two  side  saddles,  .seven  table  forks,  ninety-three  chairs, 
two  hundred  and  forty -three  stools,  twenty-seven  geese,  three 
turkeys,  two  mattresses,  eight  straw  mattresses,  eight  brass 
candlesticks,  three  watches,  one  school,  one  priest,  no  hats,  no 
clocks,  no  shoes,  no  turnips,  no  carrots,”  — let  us  stop  a mo- 
ment in  this  inventory.  M.  Roussel  adduces  whole  pages 
which  present  nothing  strange  to  those  who  have  visited  the 
country  of  which  he  speaks ; and,  after  having  accomplished 
this  sort  of  hospital  visit,  he  exclaims,  triumphantly,  “ Let  us 
now  cross  the  channel,  and,  after  having  seen  Catholic  Ireland 
and  her  misery,  let  us  contemplate  Protestant  Scotland  and 
her  prosperity.” 

Like  those  persons  who  have  the  jaundice,  and  who  see 
every  thing  to  be  yellow,  M.  Roussel  discovers  Catholicism  in 
corners  where  we  could  not  have  believed  it  to  be  hid.  He 
instances,  for  example,  the  account  of  a tight  in  Ireland,  the 
combatants  maltreating  each  other,  the  supporters  bathing 
them  with  vinegar,  and  making  them  swallow  whiskey  — in 
short,  all  the  usual  accompaniments  of  this  kind  of  sport.  But 
wherein,  do  you  think,  consists  the  offence  ? It  is  that  the  Irish 
use  shillelahs  instead  of  their  fists,  like  “the  noble  pugilists 
trained  in  England  ” ! M.  Roussel  gravely  adduces  this  fact 
as  an  example  of  the  rudeness  of  Irish  and  Catholic  manners. 
What  a difference  from  those  “ noble  Protestant  boxers  ” and 
their  surprising  fisticuffs,  no  doubt  inspired  by  the  true  faith ! 
Here  is  a new  criterion,  of  which  we  had  never  thought. 

Continuing  his  tour  of  the  world,  M.  Roussel  submits  to  a 
similar  comparison  Catholic  and  Protestant  Switzerland.  Here 
is  a traveller  who  arrives  in  a Catholic  canton,  and  his  first 


332 


APPENDIX. 


expression  is,  “What  dirtiness!  What  a yellow,  dark,  and 
livid  hue ! ” It  is  quite  right ; all  the  Catholics  are  yellow. 
Here  is  yet  another  impression  on  his  journey  — we  quote  it : 
“ We  arrived  about  two  o’clock  at  Fluetlen ; this  Catholic 
ground  was  advertised  to  us  by  some  wretched  persons  affected 
by  scurvy  and  other  complaints,  and  some  half-dozen  tattered 
unfortunates  who  appeared  as  if  they  had  just  emerged  from  the 
tomb.”  This  is  better  and  better  ; a little  while  ago  the  Cath- 
olics were  yellow ; now  they  are  all  scurvied.  Let  us  avert 
our  looks  from  this  sad  spectacle,  and  hasten  to  be  comforted 
by  the  sight  of  Protestant  earth.  “ What  valleys  ! what  cul- 
tivation ! ” exclaims  the  tourist  imagined  by  M.  Roussel. 
“ What  abundance  and  industry ! Zurich  and  its  beautiful 
environs  appeared  to  me  the  asylum  of  wisdom,  of  comfort, 
and  of  goodness.  I entered  a thatched  cottage,  when  its  mis- 
tress offered  me  milk  and  cherries,  and  placed  upon  the  table 
nine  or  ten  large  silver  spoons.”  Mark  well  — ten  silver 
spoons  ! What  holy  people  ! It  is  not  the  scurvy  Catholics, 
those  livid  persons,  who  could  show  you  any  thing  like  that. 
Will  you  follow  M.  Roussel  into  Spain  ? There  again,  with 
a great  display  of  figures,  he  will  prove  to  you  that  the  roads 
are  badly  kept,  that  the  inns  are  dirty,  that  the  people  use 
pewter  dishes ; then  he  will  contrast  that  land  of  Catholicism 
with  England,  the  country  of  Protestantism,  which  is  known 
by  its  silver  dishes,  its  roads  of  iron,  its  linen  clothing,  &c.,  &c. 

We  cannot  accompany  M.  Roussel  in  all  his  journeyings  ; 
we  do  not  deny  the  correctness  of  his  accounts,  and  we  allow 
to  Protestantism  all  the  benefit  of  its  wealth.  But  when  M. 
Roussel  travelled  in  Ireland,  for  instance,  did  he  never  expe- 
rience the  least  remorse  of  conscience  ? Did  he  never  ask 
himself  if  the  Protestants  had  any  share  in  producing  the 
misery  of  that  Catholic  country?  If  the  Protestants  repre- 
sent but  one  tenth  of  the  population  of  Ireland,  by  what  right 
have  they  laid  violent  hands  on  all  the  property  and  all  the 
revenues  of  the  Catholic  church  ? And  when  M.  Roussel,  to 
prove  that  the  Catholics  in  Ireland  are  not  oppressed,  tells  us 


APPENDIX. 


333 


that  they  have  four  archbishops,  twenty-three  bishops,  two 
thousand  five  hundred  churches,  more  than  two  thousand 
priests,  can  we  fail  to  have  some  little  admiration  for  this 
nation  of  beggars,  which,  notwithstanding  its  wretchedness, 
finds  means  to  support  its  church,  whilst  the  Protestant  bish- 
ops and  clergy  live  plentifully  and  sumptuously  on  the  produce 
of  confiscation?  How  was  it  that  a minister  of  the  gospel 
failed  to  remember  these  simple  words : “ I tell  you,  indeed, 
this  poor  widow  has  given  more  than  all  those  who  have  put 
into  the  treasury,  for  they  have  given  of  their  abundance ; but 
she  has  given  of  her  indigence  even  all  that  she  had,  and  all 
that  remained  for  her  support.” 

Why,  when  collecting  his  statistics,  did  not  M.  Boussel  also 
reckon  the  taxes  paid  by  another  portion  of  the  population,  of 
which  we  desire  to  say  nothing  offensive  in  stating  that  it  is 
generally  deemed  to  be  sufficiently  well  taxed  ? — we  mean 
the  Jews.  Who  knows  if  he  might  not  have  found  the  Israel- 
ites still  more  “ wealthy,”  and  then,  of  course,  more  virtuous 
than  the  Protestants  themselves  ? John  Lemoine. 


SCOTLAND  AND  SWEDEN. 

Scotland  is  now  praised  and  lauded  for  having  levelled 
the  cross  of  Christ,  and  trampled  it  under  foot.  She  is  called 
Evangelical . Let  us  see  if  she  deserves  the  title.  Laing,  the 
Scottish  historian,  says  in  his  work,  Travels  through  Europe, 
that  he  met  with  only  one  country,  and  that  is  Sweden,  which 
approached  near  to  his  own,  Scotland,  in  her  dreadful  depths 
of  vice  and  crime.  Sweden,  like  Scotland,  is  a truly  Bible- 
reading  country,  i.  e.,  the  Bible  is  read  in  the  truly  Protestant 
fashion ; and  yet  in  Sweden  morality  is  so  shockingly  low,  that, 
according  to  correct  statistics,  there  are  three  out  of  every  five 
births  illegitimate  ; and  in  Scotland  — O,  look  at  the  picture  ! 
— out  of  every  five  births  there  are  three  and  a half  illegit- 
imate. Poor  old  Scotland ! 


334 


APPENDIX. 


ENGLISH  MORALS. 

The  entire  annual  revenue  of  Bible  teachers  in  England 
and  elsewhere  has  been,  up  to  the  present  time,  the  enormous 
sum  of  thirteen  and  a half  millions  of  pounds  sterling! 

If  ever  there  was  a people  learned,  refined,  moral,  religious, 
and  Christian,  the  English  ought  to  be  that  nation  ; and  if  any 
city  on  earth  should  rise  in  preeminent  public  virtue  and  social 
works,  London  ought  to  be  that  city.  Yet,  strange  anticipa- 
tions ! London  is  the  most  infidel,  immoral,  and  criminal  city 
in  Europe ; and  the  English  lower  orders  are  amongst  the  most 
ignorant  and  irreligious  people  of  any  Christian  country  in  the 
whole  world. 

1.  From  government  reports  within  the  last  ten  years  it 
appears  “ that  one  half  of  the  working  classes  cannot  read.” 

2.  Lord  John  Russell,  at  a late  meeting  at  a mechanics* 
institute,  stated  “ that  one  third  of  the  population  was  sunk  in 
social  barbarism.” 

3.  The  daily  journals  publish  records  of  English  vice  and 
crime  which  have  never  been  equalled  in  any  Christian  coun- 
try, and  which,  without  doubt,  never  was  surpassed  in  moral 
turpitude  amongst  any  corrupt  people  of  pagan  antiquity. 

The  English  murderer  is  so  hardened,  so  reckless,  so  care- 
less of  responsibility,  such  a disbeliever  in  the  Saviour,  in  fu- 
ture rewards  and  punishments,  such  an  infidel,  he  takes  small 
precaution,  he  sees  comparatively  small  guilt  in  the  act,  and 
therefore  he  is  easily  detected.  He  is  never  at  church ; 
amongst  his  wicked  companions  murder  and  poisoning  are 
almost  every-day  acts ; he  is  not  shocked  with  blood : he 
never  hears  a sermon ; he  is  off  his  guard ; he  is  caught  in  an 
hour  after  the  act.  He  will  carry  the  reeking  knife  in  his 
possession ; walk  home  through  crowded  streets ; keep  his 
bloody  clothes  on  his  person,  and  the  plunder  in  his  pocket. 
Murder  is  a practice  amongst  his  class.  He  is  obdurate  in 
heart,  infidel  in  idea ; one  glance  from  the  “ detective,”  and 
he  is  known  and  arrested.  — Dr,  Cahill, 


APPENDIX. 


335 


ENGLISH  CRIMINALS. 

“In  England/’  says  the  London  Times,  — aiming  a side 
blow  at  the  Irish  police,  whilst  it  slanders  the  people,  — “ in 
England,  the  certainty  of  detection  has  passed  into  a proverb, 
which,  if  not  as  strictly  true  as  it  is  wholesome,  still  represents 
a fact  worthy  of  notice.” 

Does  not  this,  if  it  be  the  case,  prove  a little  too  much  ? 
Since,  if  the  certainty  of  detection  is  invariably  so  great  as  to 
pass  into  a proverb,  must  not  the  recklessness,  ruffianism,  and 
bloodthirstiness  of  the  English  criminal  be  greater  than  in  any 
other  country  ? With  detection  staring  him  in  the  face,  and, 
as  it  were,  laying  its  hands  upon  him  whilst  he  is  in  the  act ; 
with  punishment  overtaking  him  as  he  leaves  the  spot  where 
he  has  dealt  the  death  blow ; with  all  this  to  deter  him,  he 
nevertheless  perpetrates  the  cold-blooded  deed  of  darkness,  as 
if  escape  and  impunity,  rather  than  detection  and  punishment, 
were  certain  and  secure.  There  is  another  loose  statement  in 
the  article  to  which  we  are  adverting  — a kind  of  corollary  to 
the  equally-unfounded  statement  that  nearly  all  crime  is  de- 
tected and  punished  in  England  : — 

“ It  is  proved,  beyond  a doubt,  that  murders  in  England  are, 
in  proportion  to  the  population,  much  fewer  than  in  any  con- 
tinental country.” 

Now,  we  will  quote  one  or  two  authorities,  including,  strange 
to  say,  the  Times  itself,  on  this  head  ; but  first,  the  London 
Weekly  Dispatch  of  the  30th  March,  1851,  which,  in  its  num- 
ber of  that  date,  says,  — 

“We  have,  unfortunately,  seventy-four  thousand  reasons 
annually  for  not  entering  upon  a comparison  of  the  influence 
of  Protestantism  in  Britain  and  Popery  in  France  or  Belgium 
in  repressing  serious  crime  — the  average  convictions  for  such 
crimes  amounting  every  year  to  that  number.” 

In  the  Times  of  the  12th  June,  1855,  where  is  published  a 


336 


APPENDIX. 


report  of  the  Education  No.  2 Bill,  it  states  that  Sir  John 
Pakington,  in  his  speech,  asserted,  — 

“That  the  whole  number  of  convictions  in  that  year  (1855) 
was  ninety  thousand ! — indeed,  no  comparison  with  other 
countries  could  be  properly  drawn,  for  that  the  amount  of 
undetected  crime  in  England  was  so  serious  that  any  calcula- 
tions founded  upon  the  number  of  convictions  must  prove  fal- 
lacious.” 

Another  authority  says,  — 

“ Our  moral  depravity  keeps  pace  with,  or  rather  outsteps, 
our  mental  advancement.” 

And  such  is,  undoubtedly,  the  case.  Nevertheless,  English 
journalists  cannot  furnish  their  readers  with  an  account  of  a 
crime  committed  in  Ireland,  without  instituting  odious  and  in- 
vidious comparisons  between  the  people  of  the  two  sister 
kingdoms,  and  uniformly  in  disparagement  of  the  Celtic  sis- 
ter. Is  this  ingenuous  ? is  it  becoming  the  press,  whose 
peculiar  office  it  is  to  promulgate  truth,  to  decry  and  dispel 
falsehood,  and  to  furnish  reliable  materials  for  the  historian 
of  the  past,  the  present,  and  the  future  ? — Dublin  Telegraph . 


HORRIBLE  DEPRAVITY  IN  LONDON. 

At  the  Lambeth  Police  Court,  recently,  a surgeon,  named 
Cunningham,  of  Slough,  but  who  also  went  by  the  name  of 
Smith,  and  other  aliases , and  Surgeon  Currie,  of  Norfolk 
Street,  Middlesex  Hospital,  were  charged  as  principal  and 
accessory  in  procuring  premature  childbirth,  (or  infanticide, 
it  not  being  at  the  time  known  which  the  offence  amounted 
to.)  The  unfortunate  young  lady,  whose  shame  it  was  thus 
attempted  to  conceal,  is  a Miss  Mardon.  Neither  her  mother, 
the  servants  in  the  house,  or  any  of  her  friends,  seem  to  have 
entertained  the  least  suspicion  of  her  actual  situation. 


APPENDIX. 


337 


CRIME  IN  IRELAND  AND  ENGLAND. 

A correspondent  of  the  London  Weekly  Regis- 
ter furnishes  the  following  statistics  : — 

“ Murders  Fourfold  in  Ireland  to  One  in  Eng- 
land.” — Sir : The  heading  of  this  is  the  text  of  the  Christmas 
discourse  sent  by  the  Protestant  chaplain  of  the  Pentonville 
Prison  to  the  Times,  and  published  in  a recent  number  of  that 
paper.  Permit  me  to  bring  forward  facts  officially  stated  in 
opposition  to  Mr.  Joseph  Kingsmill’s  “ Notions  of  Foreign 
Catholic  Nations,”  and  of  Old  Ireland.  In  the  revenue  re- 
turns for  the  year  1849  it  is  officially  stated  that  there  were 
in  London  alone,  “Murders  and  attempts  to  murder,  91  ; for 
all  Ireland,  51.  Of  another  hateful  class  of  offenders  in 
London,  39  ; in  Ireland,  none.  Crime  in  London,  4071  ; 
crime  in  Ireland,  883.”  In  the  year  1851,  there  were  28,000 
persons  convicted  in  England  and  Wales,  of  whom  70  were 
sentenced  to  death,  and  3000  to  various  periods  of  transporta- 
tion — a great  part  for  life.  In  the  same  year  there  were 
2000  persons  convicted  in  Ireland,  of  whom  9 were  sentenced 
to  death.  So  much  for  Mr.  KingsmilFs  “ fourfold  murders  in 
Ireland  to  one  in  England.” 

That  eminent  member  of  Parliament,  Sir  J.  Pakington, 
stated  in  a speech  in  the  House  of  Commons,  that  in  England 
“ one  in  300  of  the  population  is  detected  in  crime.”  In  Cath- 
olic Austria,  “ one  in  800  of  the  population  is  detected  ” in 
crime.  If  foreign  Papists  have  committed  murders  in  Eng- 
land, who  is  not  horrified  by  the  awful  and  frequent  murders 
of  infant  children  by  English  mothers,  worse  than  the  very 
pagans  ? In  the  official  report  made  to  the  House  of  Com- 
mons regarding  the  poor  in  the  workhouses  of  England  and 
Wales,  it  is  stated  that  in  the  workhouses  in  England  there 
were,  in  four  years,  92,820  legitimate  children,  and  62,066 
illegitimate  children.  In  Wales  there  were  in  the  work- 

29 


APPENDIX. 


n O Q 
DO  O 

houses  2677  legitimate  children,  and  3070  illegitimate  chil- 
dren ! In  Catholic  Munster,  in  the  workhouses  or  poorhouses, 
the  number  returned  were  84  legitimate  children  for  every  4 
illegitimate  children.  In  Ulster,  where  the  Protestant  element 
is  large,  the  returns  give  28  legitimate  children  for  every  4 
illegitimate  children.  For  all  Ireland  the  official  return  gives 
for  one  year  274,786  legitimate  children,  and  16,677  illegit- 
imate children.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Clay,  Protestant  chaplain  of 
the  Preston  House  of  Correction,  in  his  report  for  the  year 
1849,  stated  that  of  1919  persons  committed  to  that  jail,  48 
and  a fraction  per  cent,  were  “ ignorant  of  the  Saviour’s 
name  ” ! It  is  said  that  comparisons  are  odious  ; but  Mr. 
Kingsmill’s  uncalled-for  attack  on  the  people  of  Ireland  and 
other  Catholic  countries  has  induced  me  to  send  you  a few 
authenticated  facts,  for  the  purpose  of  rebutting  the  Penton- 
ville  Prison  chaplain’s  notions. 

I remain,  sir,  with  great  respect, 

Yours,  Mr.  Editor, 

A Lover  of  Ireland. 


A NEW  DIRECTION. 

Education  in  England  does  not  check  crime ; it  merely 
gives  it  a new  direction.  The  more  a man  knows,  the  less  he 
fights,  murders,  and  robs ; but  the  more  he  forges,  and  deals 
in  counterfeit  coin  and  bogus  bank  notes. 

Nearly  all  thefts  are  committed  by  men  who  sign  their 
names  with  an  X,  and  who  could  not  tell  what  a shilling’s 
worth  of  eggs  would  come  to  at  twelve  for  a shilling,  even  if 
their  lives  depended  on  the  answer.  Nearly  all  elopements 
and  crim.  cons . are  committed  by  gentlemen  of  education  — 
people  posted  up  in  stage  roads  and  geography. 

Mr.  Allison,  the  Sheriff  of  Edinburgh,  states  that  the  crim- 
inal returns  for  a single  twelvemonth  exhibit  2834  educated, 


APPENDIX. 


389 


and  696  uneducated  offenders.  This  is  in  Edinburgh.  Eng- 
land,  at  large,  is  not  much,  if  any,  better  off — as  witness  the 
following  percentage  of  educated  and  uneducated  crime,  based 
upon  the  actual  returns  for  one  year.  Reference  is  had  to  the 
entire  population  : — - 


Could  read  and  write  imperfectly, 

59.28 

Could  read  and  write  well, 

8.12 

Education  not  ascertained, 

2.41 

Superior  attainments, 

.42 

Could  neither  read  nor  write, 

29.77 

100.00 

While  the  rough  and  cruel  crimes  committed  by  ignorance 
are  nearly  at  a u stand  still  ” in  England,  those  requiring  ed- 
ucation to  commit,  appear  to  be  rapidly  increasing. 

The  following  is  from  the  report  of  a Liverpool  detective  : — 
“ The  average  commitments  for  ‘ malicious  offences  against 
property/  and  ‘ forgery,  and  offences  against  the  currency/ 
were  in  the  following  proportion : — - 

“ 1841-5,  malicious  offences  against  property,  such  as  rob- 
bery, with  violence,  burglary,  &c.,  1079;  from  1845  to  1850, 
1115. 

“ 1841-5,  forgery  and  offences  against  the  currency,  where 
education  and  art  must  be  employed  as  absolutely  necessary  to 
success,  and  as  evidenced  in  the  cases  of  such  persons  as  Rob- 
son, the  Royal  British  Bankers,  John  Deal,  Paul,  Strahan,  & 
Co.,  Sadlier,  and  others,  2725  ; from  1845  to  1850,  2971.” 
These  figures  are  not  as  full  of  encouragement  as  we  could 
wish.  Whether  our  statistics  would  furnish  a similar  balance 
sheet  is  more  than  we  can  say. 

During  the  year  1855,  England  spent  over  $600,000,000 
for  reforming  society  at  home  and  abroad ; and  yet,  in  spite 
of  this  vast  expenditure,  we  find  that  the  higher  class  of  crimes, 
such  as  forgery,  is  increasing  faster  than  the  school  houses  ! 
What  is  the  cause  of  this  ? Who’ll  answer? 


340 


APPENDIX. 


IGNORANCE  IN  ENGLAND. 

It  has  been  calculated  that  there  are  in  England  and  Wales 
six  millions  of  persons  who  can  neither  read  nor  write — that 
is  to  say,  one  third  of  the  population,  including,  of  course,  in- 
fants ; but  of  all  the  children  between  five  and  fourteen,  more 
than  one  half  attend  no  place  of  public  instruction.  These 
statements  — compiled  by  Mr.  Ray,  from  official  and  other 
authentic  sources,  for  his  work  on  the  social  condition  and  ed- 
ucation of  the  poor  in  England  and  Europe  — would  be  hard 
to  believe  if  we  had  not  to  encounter  in  our  every-day  life 
degrees  of  illiteracy  which  would  be  startling  if  we  were  not 
thoroughly  used  to  it.  Wherever  we  turn,  ignorance,  not  al- 
ways allied  to  poverty,  stares  us  in  the  face.  If  we  look,  in 
the  Gazette,  at  the  lists  of  partnerships  dissolved,  not  a month 
passes  but  some  unhappy  man,  rolling,  perhaps,  in  wealth,  but 
wallowing  in  ignorance,  is  put  to  the  experimentum  crucis  of 
“his  mark.”  The  number  of  petty  jurors,  in  petty  districts 
especially,  who  can  only  sign  with  a cross,  is  enormous.  It 
is  not  unusual  to  see  parish  documents  of  great  local  impor- 
tance defaced  with  the  same  humiliating  symbol  by  persons 
whose  office  not  only  shows  them  to  be  “ men  of  mark,”  but 
men  of  substance.  We  have  printed,  already,  specimens  of 
the  partial  ignorance  which  passes  under  the  pen  of  the  Post 
Office  authorities ; and  we  may  venture  to  assert  that  such 
specimens  of  penmanship  and  orthography  are  not  to  be 
matched  in  any  other  country  in  Europe.  A housewife  in 
humble  life  need  only  turn  to  tlie  file  of  her  husband’s  bills 
to  discover  hieroglyphics  which  render  them  so  much  arith- 
metical puzzles.  In  short,  the  practical  evidences  of  the  low 
ebb  to  which  the  plainest  rudiments  of  education  in  this  coun- 
try have  fallen,  are  too  common  to  bear  repetition.  W e can- 
not pass  through  the  streets,  we  cannot  enter  a public  assembly, 
or  ramble  in  the  fields,  without  the  gloomy  shadow  of  ignorance 
sweeping  over  us.  The  rural  population  is,  indeed,  in  a worse 
plight  than  the  other  classes.  — Household  Words. 


APPENDIX. 


341 


POISONING  IN  ENGLAND. 

Mr.  Walter  Wilson,  of  Birmingham,  in  a letter  to  the 
London  Times,  states  that  five  hundred  and  thirty-six  persons, 
upon  an  average,  are  annually  poisoned  — ten  in  every  week, 
or  one  in  every  sixteen  hours,  irrespective  of  those  who  die 
from  the  same  means,  (whose  true  cause  of  death  is  only 
known  to  those  who  possess  the  dreadful  secret  of  murder,) 
and  are  registered  with  those  who  die  from  “ cause  unknown,” 
“ sudden  death,”  or  by  the  u visitation  of  God.”  The  follow- 
ing analysis  of  deaths  from  poison,  in  England  alone,  taken 
from  the  Registrar- General’s  Report  for  six  years,  will  show 
this : — 


Males. 

Females. 

Total. 

1848, 

308 

261 

569 

1849, 

290 

236  • 

536 

1850, 

304 

249 

553 

1851, 

275 

253 

528 

1852, 

253 

300 

553 

1853, 

270 

219 

489 

Total  deaths  in  six 

years,  1700 

1518 

3211 

On  examination  of  the  books  of  the  Birmingham  General 
Hospital,  Mr.  Wilson  says,  — 

“ I find  that  sixty-three  cases  of  poisoning  had  occurred  in 
eight  years,  and  out  of  that  number  arsenic  had  only  been 
used  in  three  instances.  The  number  of  females  was  forty- 
two,  and  males  twenty-one.  The  deaths  out  of  that  number 
were  only  five,  making,  in  round  numbers,  one  death  to  every 
twelve  cases  of  poisoning.  It  will  not,  I think,  be  unreason- 
able to  infer  that  the  average  deaths  from  poison,  in  proportion 
to  those  who  have  been  the  subjects  of  poison,  will  be  the  same 
throughout  the  country  — viz.,  one  in  every  twelve. 

“ According,  then,  to  this  computation,  we  have  another  im- 

29* 


342 


APPENDIX. 


portant  fact,  that  6432  persons,  of  all  ages,  annually,  either 
take  poison  themselves  or  have  it  administered  to  them  by 
others,  and  almost  in  every  instance  avowedly  for  the  purpose 
of  self-destruction,  or  murder  by  other  parties.  In  1831  the 
number  of  chemists  and  druggists  in  England  was  5835,  while 
in  1851  there  were  3632  men  and  12  women  under  the  age 
of  twenty  years  carrying  on  business,  and  11,701  men  and  208 
women  of  twenty  years  of  age  and  upwards,  (exclusive  of 
16,163  surgeons  and  apothecaries,)  making  a grand  imperial 
host  of  15,643  persons,  unrestricted,  uncontrolled,  and  irre- 
sponsible, with  a stock  in  trade  sufficient,  to  depopulate  the 
whole  continent  of  Europe.  The  present  law  for  restricting 
the  sale  of  arsenic  was  passed  in  1851.  The  average  number 
of  deaths,  annually,  for  three  years  previous  to  this  enactment, 
was  549,  and  for  the  three  subsequent  years  (inclusive  of  the 
year  1851)  was  523,  the  deaths  being  only  lessened  26  out  of 
546.  This  shows  that  other  poisons  are  resorted  to  ; and  if 
deaths  from  poison  are  to  be  lessened  by  an  enactment,  there 
must  be  one  judicial  and  administrative  head  invested  with 
authority  to  grant  licenses,  and  armed  with  strong  powers,  who 
will  have  all  the  poison  shops  and  poison  venders  under  his 
control,  and  subject  to  his  official  glance.” 


SUNDAY  TIPPLING  IN  SCOTLAND. 

Nearly  two  hundred  gentlemen  in  Edinburgh,  not  long 
since,  agreed  to  ascertain  the  actual  amount  of  Sunday  traffic 
in  the  public  houses  of  that  city,  and  their  report,  entering 
into  the  statistics  of  each  house,  the  character  of  the  visitors, 
&c.,  was  subsequently  published.  There  are,  in  all,  464 
licensed  houses  in  Edinburgh,  and  312  of  these  were  open 
on  the  Sunday  referred  to.  The  visitors  were  — 22,202  men, 
11,931  women,  4631  children  under  fourteen  years  of  age,  and 
3032  children  under  eight  years  of  age.  Total  amount  during 
the  day,  41,796.  — Liverpool  Chronicle . 


APPENDIX. 


343 


PROTECTION  TO  HUMAN  LIFE. 

Dr.  Taylor,  from  his  profession  and  position,  knows  the 
English  character  well ; and  he  asserts,  in  the  following  ex- 
tract from  a letter  in  the  London  Lancet,  that  the  protection 
of  human  life  from  a wholesale  poisoning  and  murder  in  Eng- 
land is  not  to  be  derived  from  the  feelings  of  religion,  but  from 
the  rope : — 

“ In  concluding  this  letter,  I would  observe  that  during  a 
quarter  of  a century,  which  I have  now  especially  devoted  to 
toxicological  inquiries,  I have  never  met  any  cases  like  these 
suspected  cases  of  poisoning  at  Rugely.  The  mode  in  which 
they  will  affect  the  person  accused  is  of  minor  importance, 
compared  with  their  probable  influence  on  society.  I have 
no  hesitation  in  saying  that  the  future  security  of  life  in 
this  country  will  mainly  depend  on  the  judge,  the  jury,  and 
the  counsel  who  may  have  to  dispose  of  the  charges  of  mur- 
der which  have  arisen  out  of  these  investigations. 

“ I am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

“ Alfred  S.  Taylor,  M.  D.,  F.  R.  S. 

“ St.  James’s  Terrace,  Regent’s  Park, 

“January,  1856.” 


ENGLISH  VAGRANTS. 

The  mere  vagrants  of  England  constitute  a nomad  and 
wholly  irresponsible  population  of  not  less  than  two  hundred 
thousand  — more  than  equal  to  the  whole  native  population 
of  New  Zealand,  and  far  more  dense  on  the  area  than  the 
inhabitants  of  any  Arabian  or  Siberian  desert.  So  that,  if 
the  settled  and  orderly  population  of  England  were  withdrawn, 
it  would  still  be  as  populous  in  vagrancy  and  moral  barbarism 
as  New  Zealand  itself. 


844 


APPENDIX. 


STATE  OF  TIPPERARY. 

The  Clonmel  Free  Press  says,  44  Within  the  memory  of  that 
time-honored  personage,  the  4 oldest  inhabitant/  Tipperary  was 
never  so  tranquil.  The  police  have,  literally  speaking,  notli- 
" ing  to  do ; and  it  is  only  in  the  towns  that  their  functions  are 
at  all  called  into  requisition.  Mr.  Sergeant  Ilowley,  in  his 
charge  to  the  Nenagh  grand  jury,  said,  4 1 am  happy  to  inform 
you  that  the  cases  before  me  are  very  light  in  number,  and 
none  of  them  are  of  any  importance.  I may  make  the  same 
remark  of  this  Riding  of  the  county  that  I did  when  leaving  the 
southern  division  of  Tipperary,  and  that  is,  that  it  is  at  present 
in  a most  peaceful  and  satisfactory  condition.  When  they 
remembered  the  former  state  of  this  county,  it  was  no  less  a 
pleasing  than  an  extraordinary  fact,  that  at  the  last  Assizes 
for  the  South  Riding  of  this  county,  her  Majesty’s  judges  had 
only  three  cases  for  trial ; and  I have  the  satisfaction  to  state 
that  there  are  only  two  cases  for  trial  at  the  approaching  As- 
sizes for  this  division  of  Tipperary.  At  the  present  moment 
there  is  no  part  of  the  empire  in  a more  peaceful  condition 
than  the  North  Riding  of  the  county  of  Tipperary.’  ” 


A GENUINE  BRITON. 

The  late  seducer  of  a respectable  servant  girl  in  London 
robbed  her  of  her  money  and  clothes,  and  when  he  found  she 
had  nothing  else  to  give  him,  he  proposed  that  she  should  turn 
prostitute  to  keep  him,  and  that  he  would  act  as  her  44  bully.” 
She  was  so  low  spirited  from  this  proposition  that  she  soon 
after  threw  herself  from  Lambeth  Pier;  and  although  the  fel- 
low was  with  her,  he  did  not  attempt  to  save  her.  The  poor 
creature  was  rescued  by  another  person,  however,  and  con- 
veyed to  an  asylum. 


APPENDIX. 


345 


PAUPER  FARE. 

A great  deal  has  been  said  and  written  during  the  past 
twelve  months  on  the  growing  prosperity  of  Ireland.  Heaven 
granted  us  an  abundant  harvest ; various  circumstances  con- 
tributed to  raise  the  price  of  labor ; money  circulated,  and  a 
gleam  of  material  prosperity  fell  on  people  long  unused  to  it. 
The  effects  of  this  great  change  soon  became  visible  all  over 
the  country,  in  better  houses,  better  coats,  and  often  in  rather 
unpleasant  manifestations  of  lighter  spirits.  But  there  is  one 
class  of  persons  amongst  us  to  whom  these  brighter  times  have 
brought  no  benefit ; who  have  not  participated  in  the  general 
improvement;  and  who  find  themselves,  at  the  present  day, 
thrown  back  into  the  cold  and  hunger  of  the  famine  years. 
They  are  the  inmates  of  our  workhouses.  The  number  of 
these  sufferers,  of  course,  is  much  less  than  it  was  during  that 
sad  period  ; the  wealth  of  the  rate  payers  has  increased  since 
then,  but  we  have  not  heard  of  a single  instance  in  which  the 
scale  of  pauper  dietary  has  been  improved.  In  one  Union  we 
perceive  there  has  been  a revision  lately ; but,  we  are  sorry 
to  say,  for  no  good  purpose.  The  guardians  of  the  Cionakilty 
Union  have  been  looking  into  their  affairs,  and  have  found  they 
had  been  doing  rather  too  much  of  a good  thing  for  some  time  ; 
they  resolved  to  make  an  end  of  it,  which  they  did  without  de- 
lay. This  excellent  proceeding  consisted  in  reducing  and  dete- 
riorating the  food  they  had  been  giving  to  the  paupers.  The 
children’s  allowance  was  first  attacked.  The  quantity  of  food 
to  be  given  daily  to  children  between  five  and  nine  years  of 
age,  as  laid  down  in  the  General  Order  of  the  Poor  Law  Com- 
missioners, bearing  date  5th  of  February,  1849,  was,  for  break- 
fast, four  ounces  of  Indian  meal  and  a half  pint  of  new  milk ; 
for  dinner,  six  ounces  of  brown  bread  and  one  pint  of  soup ; 
and  for  supper,  four  ounces  of  brown  bread. 

At  one  time,  however,  when  dysentery  raged,  and  it  became 
probable  that  such  coarse  and  wretched  fare  would  send  the 


APPENDIX. 


346 


little  creatures,  one  and  all,  into  the  hospital,  the  medical 
officer  recommended  that  this  dietary  should  be  improved  by 
giving  them  a half  pint  of  milk  to  moisten  that  little  lump  of 
nasty  brown  bread  in  the  evening.  His  recommendations  were 
carried  into  effect,  and  the  little  paupers  went  to  bed  every 
night  with  somewhat  of  a less  craving  at  the  stomach  than 
they  used  to  feel  after  supper.  Possibly,  they  prayed  for  the 
doctor,  and  thought  their  guardians  were  very  good ; but  cer- 
tainly they  imagined  the  new  and  improved  order  of  things 
would  continue,  and  never  fancied  their  little  cans  of  milk 
would  be  snatched  away  again  from  them.  But  they  were 
doomed  to  be  disappointed.  The  guardians,  after  some  time, 
discovered  that  dysentery  had  disappeared,  recollected  that  the 
half  pint  of  milk  was  in  excess  of  the  minimum  dietary  ordered 
by  the  commissioners,  clearly  saw  that  therefore  it  was  not 
wanted,  and  ordered  it  to  be  discontinued  ; so  the  little  chil- 
dren in  the  Clonakilty  Workhouse  get  their  pellet  of  four 
ounces  in  the  evening,  swallow  it  how  they  can,  go  to  sleep, 
and  dream  of  next  morning’s  breakfast. 

Then  came  the  turn  of  the  adults.  The  commissioner’s  or- 
der states  that  the  males  shall  receive  at  least  eight  ounces  of 
Indian  meal  and  a half  pint  of  new  milk  at  one  meal,  fourteen 
ounces  of  brown  bread  and  a quart  of  soup  at  another.  The 
guardians  are  not  required  to  give  a third ; but  should  they, 
in  their  goodness,  choose  to  do  so,  the  commissioners  have  so 
high  an  opinion  of  the  humanity  and  integrity  of  Irish  boards 
they  only  insist  on  one  simple  thing,  and  that  is,  that  the  quan- 
tity of  food  given  in  the  three  meals  shall  not  be  less  than  the 
quantity  they  have  ordered  for  two.  As  may  be  supposed, 
two  meals  are  the  order  of  the  day  in  all  the  Unions  of  lie- 
land.  But,  at  the  time  to  which  we  have  above  referred,  this 
bowel-tearing  dietary  was  improved  in  the  Clonakilty  *Woik- 
house  by  making  the  eight  ounces  allowed  for  breakfast  to  con- 
sist of  two  thirds  Indian  meal  and  one  third  rice,  instead  of 
Indian  meal  pure  and  simple.  This  was  an  agreeable  and  not 
an  expensive  alteration ; but  like  the  delights  of  Hinda,  in  the 


APPENDIX. 


347 


poem  of  Lalla  Rookh,  it  was  too  good  to  last.  The  guardi- 
ans have  returned  to  their  first  love,  — the  scale  of  1849,— 
and  the  unfortunate  paupers  starve  slowly,  but  surely,  within 
the  white  walls  of  the  workhouse.  It  is  a process  of  slow 
starvation.  Perpetual  hunger  preys  on  the  vitals  of  these 
poor  people.  They  are  hungry  before  meals,  and  hungry 
after  them.  Male  and  female,  young  and  old,  suffer  alike  — 
all  are  pinched  down,  thinned  down,  and  struck  down  by  that 
cruel  scale  which  hard-hearted  men  might  strive  to  justify 
during  the  years  of  famine  and  poverty,  but  which  cannot  be 
defended  now.  Those  who  are  at  present  within  our  work- 
houses  are,  for  the  greater  part,  old  and  infirm  people,  who 
have  no  home  to  go  to,  and  no  chance  of  earning  a living,  and 
orphans  who  have  no  one  to  support  or  care  for  them. — 
Nation . 


CRIME  AND  IRRELIGION  IN  ENGLAND. 

Let  any  foreigner  visit  England,  the  country  of  Protestant- 
ism, and  examine  London,  the  metropolis  of  Protestantism: 
he  notes  the  churches  deserted  ; crime  knee  deep  in  the  city  ; 
and  the  laboring  classes  sunk  in  the  inextricable  mire  of  a bru- 
tal iniquity.  lie  cannot  fail  to  see  that  the  every-day  poi- 
sonings, child . murders,  adult  murders  of  England  surpass  in 
number  the  crimes  of  all  the  rest  of  Europe,  while  the  unnat- 
ural circumstances  of  cutting,  boiling,  and  roasting  their  vic- 
tims are  the  index  of  a ferocity  not  known  amongst  the  savage 
tribes  of  the  trackless  forest.  More  Bibles  have  been  circu- 
lated in  England  than  would  cover  the  very  surface  of  the 
country ; and  yet,  who  can  shut  his  eyes  to  the  unceasing  flood 
of  crime  and  irreiigion  in  the  land  ? In  fact,  the  clergy  have 
lost  all  hold  on  the  people ; and  the  fine,  noble,  generous  Eng- 
lish character  has  sunk  into  mere  animal  appetite  and  brutal 
instinct,  from  the  absence  of  all  spiritual  instructions  on  the 
part  of  their  overfed  worldly  teachers. 


348 


APPENDIX. 


THE  CRY  OF  THE  WOMEN. 

In  the  year  of  light  1848,  the  wisdom  of  the  Egyptian  gov- 
ernment manifested  itself  by  rebuking  its  women.  The  women 
had  become  noisy,  and  they  were  to  be  silenced.  They,  in 
their  ignorance  and  effrontery,  — for  the  boldness  of  women, 
where  women  hide  all  of  their  faces  but  their  eyes,  is  not  to 
be  thought  of  without  a flesh-quake, — they  had  “made  lam- 
entations,” and  “ lifted  their  voices,”  and  the  upshot  was,  the 
paternal  and  affectionate  Egyptian  government  could  no  longer 
endure  the  hubbub.  If  the  women  lamented,  they  should  have 
still  greater  cause  to  lament ; if  they  continued  to  lift  their 
voices,  they  should  be  made  to  pitch  them  still  higher  and 
higher.  “ Any  woman,”  said  the  edict,  “ making  lamentations 
for  a dead  person  belonging  to  her,  Allah  will  certainly  make 
her  tongue  the  length  of  seventy  cubits  ” — a punishment,  it 
might  be  thought,  held  to  be  no  punishment  whatever  by  the 
lamenting  female.  F urther,  such  a woman  would  “ be  raised 
from  the  dead  with  a black  face,  blue  eyes,  and  the  locks  of 
her  hair  stretched  out  to  her  feet.”  Finally,  “ It  is  better  for 
women  to  sit  at  home  than  to  go  and  pray  at  the  mosque.”  v 

Now,  at  the  present  time,  our  liberal  and  otherwise  peaceful 
country  is  much  disturbed  by  women  who  make  lamentations  — 
by  women  who  lift  up  their  voices  even  to  the  altitude  of  Par- 
liament. They  lament  their  wrongs,  and  lift  up  their  voices 
for  what  they  call  their  rights  ! What  shall  be  done  unto  such 
women  ? It  avails  not  in  our  land  of  light  to  threaten  to  visit 
the  offenders  with  a longitude  of  tongue  of  seventy  cubits. 
What  then,  we  say,  should  be  done  unto  them  ? 

A woman  marries  a man  ; for  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  the 
fact  that  for  every  man  who  marries  a woman,  no  less  than 
twenty  women  marry  men  ; therefore,  we  say,  a woman  mar- 
ries a man,  and  becomes  his  property.  She  is  the  bone  of  his 
bone,  the  flesh  of  his  flesh  ; and  it  proves  how  little  the  heroic 
man  often  thinks  of  his  own  bone  or  own  flesh,  seeing  how 


APPENDIX. 


349 


often  he  fractures  the  one  and  bruises  the  other  in  the  body 
of  his  wife.  Bone  of  his  bone,  and  flesh  of  his  flesh,  she  is, 
nevertheless ; but  not  pocket  of  his  pocket.  Now,  these  la- 
menting women  lift  their  voices  up  to  Parliament,  and  pray 
that  a very  little  pocket,  even  the  smallest  of  separate  pouches, 
may,  under  certain  conditions,  be  permitted  them. 

“ Our  husbands  beat  us,”  they  lament ; “ our  husbands,” 
lifting  up  their  voices,  they  cry,  “ desert  us  ; yet  desert  not 
the  property  they  hold  and  do  not  maintain  in  us.  O,  ye  wise 
men  of  Parliament,  ye  sages  of  St.  Stephens,  help  us,  and 
vouchsafe  to  us  the  allowance  of  a little  pocket ! We  are 
deserted  by  the  husbands  of  our  bosoms ; and  when  we  labor 
with  our  fingers,  or  think  with  our  heads,  (if  it  be  not  too  pre- 
sumptuous in  us  to  think  at  all,)  the  savage  and  the  sot  whom 
we  are  chained  to,  carrying  the  link  of  the  manacle  on  our 
third  finger,  returns  and  takes  unto  himself  all  that  we  have 
worked  for,  and  have  gained ; and  taking  it,  leaves  us,  we 
preventing  it  not. 

“ We,  therefore,  O St.  Stephens  ! lift  up  our  voices,  and  pray 
that  you  will  step  between  the  wicked  and  the  weak  ; that  you 
will  assure  to  the  wife  the  wages  of  her  toil,  nor  suffer  them 
to  be  taken  by  the  hand  of  the  deserting,  but  a while  return- 
ing, husband  — the  savage  and  the  drunkard. 

“ Lift  us  from  the  dust,  O ye  wise  men  ! and,  with  your 
horse  hair,  O ye  sages,  wipe  the  tear  drops  from  our  eyes  ! ” 

Now,  this  petition  or  lamentation  — in  which  Mr.  Punch 
gives  willing  ear  to  the  cry  of  weakness  and  unjust  suffering 
— has  been  rebuked,  pooh-poohed,  pished,  and  fiddle-de-dee’d  ; 
but  in  these  scoffings  Mr.  Punch  joineth  not.  He  cannot,  for 
the  life  of  him,  say,  with  certain  editorial  porcupines  of  the 
male  gender,  “ Of  what  avail  these  lamentations  of  lamenting 
women,  whose  cries  are  foolishness  ? Wherefore  should  wo- 
men, at  any  time,  lift  up  their  voices  ; when,  is  it  not  manifest 
from  the  beginning,  that  women  were  created  to  sing  small  ? 
And,  finally,  if  women  be  beaten  by  savages,  and  robbed  by 
sots,  what  of  it  ? It  is  better  that  women  should  be  beaten, 

30 


350 


APPENDIX. 


and  crouch  in  the  dust,  it  is  better  they  should  be  robbed, 
and  sit  at  home,  than  go  and  petition  Parliament.”  — Punch , 
April  12,  1856. 

Mr.  Dillwyn’s  motion  for  the  enactment  of  a law  to  flog  tire 
brutes  who  beat  their  wives,  has  been  rejected  by  a majority 
of  thirty-eight.  Now  would  be  the  time  to  move  for  the  total 
abolition  of  military  flogging,  if  that  were  advisable  ; for  surely 
the  House  cannot  but  consider  that  punishment  too  degrading 
for  the  army,  which  it  regards  as  too  degrading  for  the  ruf- 
fianry. 

The  strongest  argument  that  can  be  urged  against  flogging 
the  wife-beater  is  specious,  but  sophistical.  It  is,  that  the  sav- 
age is,  perhaps,  tormented  by  a cat  of  a wife. 

Is  it  possible  that  the  real  cause  of  the  rejection  of  Mr.  Dill- 
wyn’s bill  was  the  fact  that  wife-beating  is  not  confined  to  the 
slums  ? and  that  if  all  offenders  in  that  particular  had  their 
deserts,  some  highly  respectable  gentlemen  would  not  escape 
whipping  ? — Punch , May  27,  1856. 


WHO  ARE  THE  MORMONS? 

Now  let  us  see  where  these  Mormonites  come  from.  There 
is  among  them  a slight  sprinkling  of  the  people  of  all  nations ; 
but  the  vast  mass  come  from  one  particular  country  ; and 
which  is  that  ? Surely,  it  cannot  be  England,  the  land  of  Bi- 
bles, the  land  of  “ civilization  and  enlightenment,”  the  land  so 
rich  in  cotton  and  gospel  truth  that  all  other  lands  under  heaven 
are,  in  comparison,  poor,  woe-begone,  and  to  be  pitied  ! Well, 
the  truth  must  be  told  : the  mass,  almost  the  whole  of  these 
depraved  beings,  have  come  from  England  ; this  abominable 
community  is  a clot  of  the  “glorious  Anglo-Saxons.”  The 
English  newspapers  confess  it,  and  fresh  instances  of  the  fact 
turn  up  every  day.  A short  time  since  we  quoted  from  the 
Manchester  Examiner  a sketch  of  the  “ baptism  ” of  one  hun- 


APPENDIX. 


351 


dred  of  these  wretches  in  a river  near  the  town  of  Manchester ; 
and  now  a despatcli  from  Boston  informs  us  that  eight  hun- 
dred and  fifty  Mormonites  had  just  arrived  at  that  port,  from 
Liverpool,  in  the  packet  ship  George  Washington.  Yet,  mark 
the  incurable  impudence  of  assertion,  the  stolid  self-conceit,  of 
the  Englishman.  In  the  London  Times,  of  a recent  date,  a 
writer,  with  whose  words  ninety-nine  out  of  every  hundred  of 
the  English  people  will  agree,  says,  “ It  is  not  with  the  English 
as  with  the  French  women.  The  former  have  generally  had 
in  childhood  a semblance  of  religious  training;  our  race  is, 
besides,  in  itself,  perhaps,  more  moral  than  any  other  in  the 
world.”  This,  indeed,  has  fairly  taken  the  breath  out  of  us. 
We  must  let  the  subject  drop  till  some  other  time.  — Nation . 


ENGLISH  DIVORCE  BILL. 

The  Divorce  Bill  came  to  the  Lords  from  their  Select  Com- 
mittee, and  Lord  Lyndhurst  most  ably  explained  its  present 
character.  What  is  proposed  is  this.  A new  tribunal  for  de- 
ciding upon  matrimonial  causes.  That  a divorced  woman  who 
acquires  property  shall  have  it  for  herself ; that  she  may  sue, 
in  actions,  as  a single  woman  ; that  a wife  shall  be  placed 
somewhat  more  upon  a footing  with  a husband,  as  regards  the 
obtaining  divorce  ; that  in  all  cases  of  a husband’s  infidelity, 
(accompanied  with  cruelty,)  in  certain  still  worse  cases,  and 
in  those  of  bigamy,  a woman  shall  be  entitled  to  ask  divorce. 
Lord  Lyndhurst — ever  “ a woman’s  man,”  but  now  so  in  the 
noblest  sense  of  the  word  — added,  that  he  had  endeavored  to 
get  the  committee  to  assent  to  abolish  the  scandalous  and  un- 
fair “ action  for  damages,”  and  to  substitute  prosecution  ; and 
he  instanced  a remarkable  case  in  which  the  present  system 
inflicted  the  most  cruel  and  wicked  wrong  upon  an  innocent 
lady,  who  was  permitted  to  give  no  evidence  in  a cause  whose 
result  was  to  brand  her  with  infamy.  But  the  committee  were 


852 


APPENDIX. 


not  prepared  to  go  so  far.  They,  however,  added  a little  boon, 
namely,  that  a wife  who  has  been  deserted  for  two  years,  in- 
stead of  four,  should  be  entitled  to  alimony.  Lord  Lansdowne 
gave  eloquent  support  to  the  bill.  The  Lord  Chancellor, 
Keeper  of  the  Rojal  Conscience,  defended  the  refusal  to 
give  more  equality,  on  the  ground  that  “ unquestionably  the 
public  regarded  a husband’s  errors  as  less  criminal  than  a 
wife’s  ; that  it  was  not  unreasonable  to  expect  a wife  to  par- 
don a husband’s  infidelity ; but  that  the  reverse  was  not  to  be 
expected.  The  cases  could  not  be  considered  as  equal.”  Lord 
Campbell  supported  the  bill.  The  Bishop  of  Oxford  (Mr. 
Punch  does  not  misrepresent  him,  for  the  Church’s  stalwart 
friend,  the  Standard,  manifests  indignant  surprise  at  his  lord- 
ship’s speech)  objected  to  the  proposed  increased  facility  of 
divorce.  He  thought  it  ought  to  be  confined  to  persons  who 
could  pay  two  thousand  pounds.  “ The  lower  classes  did  not 
demand  the  privilegia  afforded  to  the  higher  and  wealthier 
classes.”  The  Bishop  of  St.  David’s  thought  with  Dr.  "Wil- 
berforce.  Lord  Campbell,  in  reply,  cited  Mr.  Justice  Maule’s 
scorching  irony,  when  a poor  man,  whose  wife  had  robbed  him 
and  absconded,  had  sought  to  provide  his  children  with  a 
mother,  and  had  committed  bigamy.  Judge  Maule’s  speech 
concentrates  so  much  of  the  poor  man’s  case,  that  Mr.  Punch 
must  quote  it.  “You  have  acted  wrongly.  You  ought  to 
have  brought  an  action  for  criminal  conversation ; that  action 
would  have  been  tried  before  one  of  her  Majesty’s  judges  at 
the  Assizes ; you  would  probably  have  recovered  damages  ; 
and  then  you  should  have  instituted  a suit  in  the  Ecclesiastical 
Court  for  a divorce  a mensd  et  thoro . Having  got  that  divorce, 
you  should  have  petitioned  the  House  of  Lords  for  a divorce 
a vinculo , and  should  have  appeared  by  counsel  at  the  bar  of 
their  lordships’  House.  Then,  if  the  bill  passed,  it  would  have 
gone  down  to  the  House  of  Commons.  The  same  evidence 
would  possibly  be  repeated  there ; and  if  the  royal  assent  had 
been  given,  after  that  you  might  have  married  again.  The 
whole  proceeding  would  not  have  cost  you  more  than  one 


APPENDIX. 


353 


thousand  pounds.”  “ Ah,  my  lord,”  replied  the  man,  “ I never 
was  worth  more  than  one  thousand  pence  in  all  my  life.”  The 
judge’s  answer  was,  “ That  is  the  law,  and  you  must  submit  to 
it.”  The  Bishop  of  Oxford  contrived  to  carry  a postponement 
of  the  next  stage  of  the  bill,  which  he  means  to  “ amend.” 
Let  the  lords  protect  the  women  of  England  against  the 
priests.  — Punch . 


PICTURE  OF  THE  PEOPLE. 

A man  was  married  recently  in  one  of  the  eastern  counties. 
When  the  ceremony  was  over,  and  the  register  book  brought 
out,  the  clergyman  inquired  what  was  his  father’s  Christian 
name.  If  he  had  been  asked  what  was  the  Hebrew  for  donkey 
he  could  not  have  looked  more  puzzled  and  perplexed.  Nei- 
ther the  bride,  nor  the  bride’s  maid,  nor  the  groom’s  man 
could  help  him ; so  at  last  the  hopeful  and  respectful  son, 
scratching  his  head,  made  answer,  “ Well,  dang  it,  if  ever  I 
heerd  th’  old  chap’s  first  name  in  my  life  ! ” The  clergyman 
was  obliged  to  leave  it  a blank  in  the  register.  — English  Paper. 


WIFE-SELLING. 

It  is  no  unusual  thing  for  a low  Englishman  to  lead  his  wife 
• into  a market  with  a halter  round  her  neck,  and  sell  her  by 
auction.  The  price  varies  from  a gallon  of  beer  to  five  dol- 
lars. There  are  innumerable  circles  of  society  in  England, 
and  the  like  takes  place  in  all,  but  under  different  forms,  ac- 
cording to  their  various  notions  of  a profitable  bargain.  Late 
English  papers  mention  such  a sale  as  taking  place  in  the 
Manchester  Market.  — Pathdrum . 

30  * 


354 


APPENDIX. 


QUEEN-GOVERNED  GREAT  BRITAIN. 

Brutal  crimes  continue  to  be  rife  among  us  — especially 
those  connected  with  marriage  relations.  Husbands,  beating 
and  even  murdering  their  wives,  are  among  our  commonest 
criminals.  It  will  behoove  the  magistrates  to  put  the  law  in 
force  with  more  vigor ; and  government  must  see  if  it  cannot 
devise  some  mode  of  either  preventing  these  demoralizing 
incidents  of  city  life,  or  punishing  them  severely  when  com- 
mitted. We  should  be  a greater  nation  if  we  pursued  and  * 
eradicated  the  low  vices  that  deprave  and  demoralize  our  poor, 
and  paid  less  attention  to  the  crimes  against  “ property  ” — sa- 
cred idol ! Unquestionably  a man  may  nearly  kill  his  wife, 
and  escape  with  six  months’  imprisonment ; but  if  he  steal  a 
watch,  or  forge  a signature,  he  lives  some  years  at  her  Majes- 
ty’s expense,  with  other  gentlemen  of  like  breeding  and  voca- 
tion. Our  Queen  is  a woman ; and  this  is  not  as  it  should 
be.  — The  Leader . 


A SYSTEMATIC  SEDUCER. 

What  law  reaches  the  thousands  of  men,  now  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  ease  and  fortune,  some  seated  in  the  very  senate,  who 
have  been  the  seducers  of  women  now  infesting  the  streets,  and 
in  whose  service,  or  in  the  service  of  whose  employers,  they,  in 
very  many  instances,  once  lived  ? I could  name  one  man  of 
large  wealth  whose  life  appeared  to  be  systematically  devoted 
to  the  seduction  of  girls  ; who  employed  female  agents  se- 
lected from  amongst  the  degraded  objects  I have  visited ; who 
spared  neither  money  nor  effort ; and  who  actually,  I am  in- 
formed, kept  a carefully-noted  journal  of  his  assignations,  and 
sums  expended.  Of  this  document  he  was  robbed,  adjoining 
my  district,  and  it  afforded  much  wretched  diversion  to  the 
thieves  and  prostitutes  of  the  neighborhood.  — Vanderkiste’ s 
Mission  to  the  Dens  of  London . 


APPENDIX. 


355 


SOCIAL  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  ENGLAND. 

The  brutality  of  assaults  on  women  is  still  unchecked. 
Several  cases  in  the  police  offices  recently  we  have  not  re- 
corded, the  character  of  most  of  them  being  common.  One 
deserves  to  be  brought  forward.  Davison  was  imprisoned  for 
two  months  for  beating  his  wife.  He  was  released  some  time 
since,  and,  returning  home  one  evening,  assaulted  his  sleeping 
wife  and  beat  her  cruelly,  saying  he  would  never  forgive  her 
for  getting  him  imprisoned.  He  has  now  been  imprisoned 
again  for  six  months,  his  poor  wife,  meanwhile,  depending  on 
the  parish.  There  have  been  some  additional  cases  of  domes- 
tic cruelty.  Catharine  Asher,  a mere  girl  in  appearance,  was 
beaten  most  mercilessly  by  her  husband,  Benjamin  Asher,  a 
Jew.  He  has  been  sentenced  to  two  months,  and  hard  labor. 
Eliza  Phillips,  a young  woman  living  as  wife  with  Thomas 
Jones,  was  sitting  in  their  room,  when  a male  lodger  in  the 
house  came  in  and  asked  for  the  loan  of  some  sugar.  She 
gave  it.  This  and  some  previous  suspicions  excited  Jones’s 
jealousy,  and  he  immediately  assaulted  the  young  girl.  He 
struck  her  in  the  face  a blow  so  hard  that  she  immediately  fell 
to  the  ground.  He  then  kicked  her  in  several  parts  of  the 
body.  It  is  feared  that  her  spine  is  injured.  He  has  been 
imprisoned  for  two  months. — The  Leader . 


A PICTURE  OF  LONDON. 

A Ragged  School  association,  in  a public  appeal,  states 
that  there  are  in  London  1,400,000  who  never  attend  public 
worship,  150,000  habitual  drunkards,  150,000  open  profligates, 

20.000  professed  beggars,  10,000  gamblers,  30,000  destitute 
children,  and  30,000  receivers  of  stolen  goods.  More  than 

10.000  young  men,  under  eighteen  years  of  age,  are  annually 
committed  for  theft  in  Great  Britain. 


356 


APPENDIX. 


A TIGRESS. 

A most  dreadful  murder  was  discovered,  not  long  since,  at 
a house  in  Cable  Street,  W ellclose  Square,  London.  It  ap- 
pears that  a Jewess,  named  Sarah  Lipman,  aged  thirty  years, 
who  was  a widow,  and  had  three  children  alive,  became  en- 
ciente . She  sent  her  servant  girl,  Bridget  Tooney,  out  upon 
an  errand.  When  she  returned  she  went  into  the  parlor,  and 
observed  the  head  of  an  infant  in  the  fireplace.  Her  mistress 
immediately  seized  her  arm,  and  begged  of  her  not  to  disclose 
what  she  had  seen,  offering  to  give  her  money  to  keep  the 
secret.  She,  however,  ran  out  of  the  house  and  brought  in 
a policeman,  who  discovered  the  woman  Lipman  sitting  in  a 
pool  of  blood,  and  found  in  the  fire  the  head  of  the  infant,  and 
different  pieces  of  human  flesh.  There  was  a knife,  also,  in 
the  room,  which  seemed  to  have  been  used  for  cutting  up  the 
body  of  the  child  before  it  was  placed  on  the  fire.  Lipman 
was  removed  to  the  police  station,  and  thence  to  the  work- 
house.  When  removed  from  the  house,  the  prisoner  was  sur- 
rounded by  a mob  of  persons,  who  followed  and  hooted  her 
along  the  street. 


FILIAL  DEVOTION. 

Peter  Sawyer  was  brought  before  the  Lord  Mayor  of  Lon- 
don, charged  with  having  assaulted  his  mother.  E.  Williams 
said  that  he  had  heard  the  shrieks  of  a woman  in  Trinity  Lane. 
Upon  going  to  the  place,  he  found  the  prisoner,  in  a state  of 
intoxication,  ill  using  his  mother.  They  were  both  on  the 
ground  together,  and  the  prisoner  called  her  a most  revolting 
name,  and  struck  her  at  the  same  time.  The  poor  woman  went 
into  a fit  in  consequence  of  the  gross  conduct  of  her  beast  of 
a son,  who  seemed  to  care  for  nothing  and  for  nobody.  The 
Lord  Mayor  committed  the  fellow  to  prison. 


APPENDIX. 


357 


A BRITISH  HUSBAND. 

John  Wagstaff,  a ruffianly,  dissipated  looking  fellow,  was 
charged  with  a series  of  brutal  assaults  and  cruelty  upon  Mary, 
his  wife.  & 

The  prosecutrix  appeared  in  the  witness  box  dreadfully 
beaten  and  mutilated,  with  her  head  bandaged  up,  and  she 
gave  her  evidence  with  much  difficulty.  She  said  that  the 
prisoner  had  been  in  the  constant  habit  of  treating  her  in  a 
cruel  manner.  He  returned  home  to  his  dinner,  which  she 
had  prepared  for  him,  and,  being  drunk,  he  quarrelled  with 
her  without  the  least  provocation,  and  after  beating  her  vio- 
lently, left  home.  He  returned  at  midnight,  when  she  was  in 
bed,  and,  after  abusing  and  swearing  at  her,  dragged  her  out 
of  bed,  and  turned  her  into  the  streets  nearly  naked,  when  she 
- took  refuge  in  the  house  of  a relative.  He  also  thrust  a 
lighted  candle  in  her  face,  which  burnt  her,  and  swore  he 
would  kill  her ; and  he  beat  and  kicked  her  about  the  head 
and  body  until  she  was  insensible. 


SELLING  A WIFE. 

An  extraordinary  instance  of  selling  a wife  occurred  at 
Bodmin,  in  Cornwall,  not  long  since.  A couple  came  to  the 
superintendent  registrar  to  be  married,  their  banns  having  been 
previously  called  before  the  board  of  guardians.  The  l'egis- 
trar  having  heard  that  one  of  the  applicants  had  been  married 
before,  cautioned  them,  and  told  them  that,  if  it  was  the  case, 
they  were  rendering  themselves,  by  a second  marriage,  liable 
to  transportation.  The  man  then  produced  before  the  regis- 
trar a document  from  another  man,  who  was  the  husband  of 
the  woman,  in  which  she  was  assigned  over  to  him  for  a sov- 
ereign. The  registrar  thereupon  refused  to  marry  them,  and 
they  went  away  much  disappointed. 


358 


APPENDIX. 


LONDON  THEATRICALS. 

There  was  performed  for  some  time  at  one  of  the  London 
theatres  an  operatic  piece  called  La  Travista.  It  is  intended 
to  realize  the  close  of  the  life  of  a prostitute,  who,  after  falling 
in  love  with  a young  man,  dies  of  consumption  and  disappoint- 
ment. Some  of  the  London  papers,  among  others  the  Times, 
took  the  subject  in  hand,  and  denounced  the  performance  as  a 
disgrace  to  the  stage,  and  a school  of  imitation  for  the  coarsest 
vices.  These  attacks  brought  out  defences,  which  led  to  noth- 
ing save  this  — that  the  condemned  play  became  the  rage,  and, 
on  its  closing  night  of  performance,  the  house  was  not  able  to 
admit  half  of  those  eager  to  get  in.  The  mothers  and  daugh- 
ters of  England,  ladies  of  birth  and  rank  who  had  been  ap- 
pealed to,  as  they  respected  the  honor  of  their  sex,  the  purity 
of  their  children’s  minds,  and  their  own  characters,  to  discoun- 
tenance such  a performance,  — these  constituted  the  major 
portion  of  the  audience  on  that  occasion. 

So  much  for  the  lady  morals  of  “ the  upper  ten  thousand.” 
The  lower  appear  equally  refined  in  another  way. 

A mob  in  Kelso  set  fire  to  a Catholic  chapel  recently.  Ap- 
parently by  private  arrangements  with  the  police,  the  latter 
were  kept  at  a distance,  and  the  mob  were  allowed  to  look  on 
quietly  till  the  fire  had  done  their  work,  and  nothing  remained 
but  the  blackened  walls. 

Again,  the  same  week,  in  Glasgow,  a similar  gang  of  ruffians, 
male  and  female,  beset  two  Sisters  of  Charity,  and  insulted 
them.  They  lifted  their  veils,  and  were  taking  other  liberties, 
while  the  police  were  — nowhere.  And  but  for  a few  gentle- 
men who  interfered  to  protect  the  helpless  ladies,  and  see  them 
home,  followed  by  a howling  mob,  it  is  hard  to  tell  where  their 
violence  would  have  ended. 

These  are  but  trifling  incidents  in  the  chronicle  of  current 
English  crime.  On  the  authority  of  the  judge  of  Assize  at 
Liverpool,  it  is  stated  that  “ offences  of  the  highest  character 


APPENDIX. 


359 


are  rapidly  on  the  advance ” in  England  ; and  so  strong  is  the 
popular  'penchant  that  way,  that  Palmer  and  Dove  have  al- 
ready received  an  intellectual  apotheosis  — become  gods  in  the 
moral  heaven,  that  strange  region  set  apart  for  English  lower 
and  even  middle  class  ideas  of  right  and  wrong. 


OUTRAGES  ON  WOMEN. 

In  the  papers  which  gave  the  account  of  Mobb’s  execution, 
and  the  circumstances  of  his  crime,  (says  the  London  Exam- 
iner,) appear  no  less  than  four  cases  of  outrages  on  women,  the 
atrocity  of  which  is  only  less  black  than  that  of  Mobb’s,  because 
death  did  not  happen  to  ensue. 

This  national  propensity  has  also  been  dilated  upon  in  the 
Morning  Post,  as  follows:  “An  ancient  proverb  describes 
England  as  a paradise  for  women,  and  a hell  for  horses  ; Italy 
as  a paradise  for  horses,  and  a hell  for  women.  What  amount 
of  truth  the  adage  may  still  retain  in  its  reference  to  Italy,  it 
were  needless  now  to  inquire ; but  it  is  sad  to  think  that,  in  so 
far  as  it  relates  to  England,  it  is  in  process  of  gradual  refutation. 
What  either  of  pleasure  or  of  dignity  can  there  be  for  the  wife  * 
who  lives  in  daily  expectation  of  being  throttled  by  her  hus- 
band, and  has  no  other  consolation  in  her  agony  but  the  sad 
thought  which  comforted  the  dying  daughter  of  Jephtha  ? — 

i If  the  hand  that  I love  lays  me  low, 

There  cannot  be  pain  in  the  blow.’ 

“ Scarcely  a day  passes  that  the  columns  of  this  and  other 
journals  are  not  defiled  with  such  stories  of  domestic  butchery 
as  sicken  the  sensibilities  of  the  reader,  and  would  utterly 
transcend  his  belief,  were  they  not  attested  on  the  evidence  of 
sworn  witnesses,  and  made  the  subject  of  judicial  investigation 
before  the  tribunals  of  police.  Sometimes,  as  in  the  case  of 
Mobb’s  victim,  the  wife  dies  on  the  spot  — her  throat  cut  like 


860 


APPENDIX. 


a sheep’s ; but  more  frequently  she  lingers  on,  maimed  and 
mutilated,  disfigured  and  discolored,  a ghostly,  yet  mute,  un- 
complaining witness  to  the  merciless  barbarity  of  the  man  who 
should  have  laid  down  his  life  for  her.  The  murderous  mar- 
riages of  Henry  VIII.  are  the  reproach  of  our  history ; but  we, 
for  our  sins,  live  in  an  age  when  the  most  debased  and  besot- 
ted of  mankind  renew  the  memory  of  those  royal  atrocities  in 
their  dark  cellars  and  mouldering  garrets.” 


BRITISH  TORTURE  IN  INDIA. 

The  Edinburgh  Review,  in  an  article  on  the  report  pre- 
sented to  Parliament  of  the  commissioners  appointed  to  investi- 
gate certain  cases  of  alleged  torture  in  the  collection  of  the  rev- 
enue in  British  India,  discloses  some  fearful  truths,  calculated 
to  astonish  a world  prepared  to  believe  that  a Christian  sense 
of  justice  has  accompanied  British  sway  in  the  land  of  the 
Orient. 

“ The  two  most  common  forms  of  torture  appear  to  be  the 
kittee  and  the  anundal . The  kittee  corresponds  with  the 

thumbscrew  of  the  European  torturer.  It  is  a wooden  in- 
strument, somewhat  like  a lemon  squeezer,  between  the  plates 
of  which  the  hands,  the  thighs,  (in  women,  also,  the  breasts,) 
the  ears,  and  other  more  sensitive  parts  of  the  body,  are 
squeezed  to  the  last  point  of  endurance,  often  to  fainting,  and 
even  to  permanent  disablement.  In  many  places  the  kittee 
has  been  superseded  by  the  more  simple  plan  of  violently 
compressing  the  hands  under  a flat  board,  on  which  a heavy 
pressure  is  laid,  sometimes  even  by  the  peons  standing  upon  it ; 
or  of  compelling  the  sufferer  to  interlace  his  fingers,  and  deliv- 
ering him  over  to  the  iron  gripe  of  the  peons,  (or  policemen,) 
who  sometimes  rub  their  hands  with  sand,  in  order  to  give 
them  a firmer  gripe.  In  other  cases,  the  fingers  are  bent  back 
till  the  pain  becomes  unendurable. 


APPENDIX. 


361 


“ The  anundal  is  a more  purely  Eastern  torture.  It  consists 
in  tying  the  victim  in  a stooping  or  otherwise  painful  and  un- 
natural position,  generally  with  the  head  forcibly  bent  down 
to  the  feet,  by  a rope  or  cloth  passed  round  the  neck  and 
under  the  toes.  The  posture,  however,  is  varied  at  the  caprice 
of  the  executioner.  Sometimes  the  poor  wretch  is  made  to 
stand  on  one  leg,  the  other  being  forcibly  tied  up  to  his  neck. 
Sometimes  the  arms  and  legs  are  curiously  interlaced,  and  the 
frame,  thus  violently  distorted,  is  kept  bound  up  for  hours  in  a 
condition  little  short  of  dislocation.  Sometimes  a heavy  stone 
is  laid  upon  the  back,  while  thus  bent ; and  it  often  happens 
that  the  peons  amuse  themselves  by  sitting  astride  upon  the 
unhappy  sufferer  who  is  undergoing  anundal.  More  than 
one  of  the  witnesses  depose  to  the  infliction  of  this  torture, 
under  the  fierce  Indian  sun,  upon  a number  of  defaulters, 
placed  together  in  rows,  for  two,  three,  four,  and  even  six  hours ; 
and  this  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  cutcherry , or  revenue 
officer,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  tahsildar , or  native  collector, 
and  of  the  assembled  visitors. 

“ These  tortures  are  often  used  simultaneously  — the  kittee 
being  applied  to  a man’s  hands,  ears,  or  thighs,  while  he  is 
actually  undergoing  the  anundal. 

“ Flogging,  in  various  forms,  is  also  one  of  the  ordinary  in- 
struments for  the  collection  of  revenue.  In  most  cases  the 
defaulter  is  hung  up  by  the  arms  to  a tree,  or  to  the  roof  beam 
of  a house,  as  a preparation  for  the  lash,  which  consists  either 
of  a scourge  of  leather  thongs,  or  of  the  tough  fibres  of  the 
tamarind  tree,  or  of  the  coir  rope.  Many  witnesses  complained 
of  having  been  flogged  to  laceration. 

“Various  other  minor,  but  yet  most  degrading  and  painful, 
species  of  violence  are  detailed.  One  of  them  consists  in  pull- 
ing the  person  about  violently  by  pinching  the  thighs,  whether 
with  the  kittee  or  by  a hand  gripe.  Another,  is  pulling  a man 
about  by  the  ears.  Occasionally  a man  is  held  aloft  from  the 
ground  by  the  ears,  by  the  hair,  and  even  by  the  mustaches ; 
and  the  latter  torture,  in  some  instances,  is  applied  so  savagely 

31 


862 


APPENDIX. 


as  to  tear  away  the  mustaches  by  the  roots.  Sometimes  a sort 
of  bastinado  is  inflicted,  sometimes  violent  blows  on  the  shin, 
the  ankles,  the  elbows,  or  other  highly  sensitive  points.  Pro- 
longed immersion  in  the  water  tanks  or  the  river  ; forcible 
compression  of  the  arms,  the  thighs,  and  even  the  body,  by 
tying  a coil  of  coir  rope  round  them,  and  then  applying  cold 
water  so  as  to  cause  it  to  contract  and  sink  into  the  flesh  ; 
burning  with  hot  iron  ; hanging  heavy  stones  round  the  neck  ; 
the  stocks  ; tying  two  or  more  individuals  together  by  the  hair, 
so  that  every  movement  is  attended  with  pain ; placing  a neck- 
lace of  bones,  or  other  disgusting  or  degrading  materials,  round 
the  neck,  — these  are  a few  of  the  minor  inflictions  devised  by 
these  masters  of  the  Oriental  school  of  torture.  If  we  add  to 
these  a few  practices  like  those  used  at  home  by  amateurs  of 
the  turf  or  the  ring,  for  the  purpose  of  6 reducing  flesh/  — 
such  as  starvation,  prolonged  deprivation  of  sleep,  compulsory 
driving  up  and  down  under  a broiling  sun,  forcing  the  unhappy 
wretches  to  run  long  distances,  their  hands  being  tied  to  the 
axle  of  a bandy,  or  country  carriage,  — we  think  the  catalogue 
of  torture  will  be  admitted  to  be  tolerably  complete. 

“ And  yet  there  are  other  devices  that  evince  in  their  very 
conception  an  amount  of  hateful  ingenuity  which,  however 
possible  in  an  individual,  it  would  be  difficult  to  understand 
as  forming  part  of  a system,  were  they  not  seriously  detailed 
by  the  witnesses  examined  before  the  commission.  Will  it  be 
credited,  for  example,  that  it  is  not  uncommon  to  apply  to  the 
most  sensitive  parts  of  the  body  (enclosed  in  a cloth,  or  a 
cocoanut  shell,  or  other  similar  receptacle)  a biting  insect  or 
reptile , such  as  the  poollah , or  carpenter  beetle,  and  to  leave 
it  to  gnaw  the  flesh  of  the  miserable  sufferer  ? that  by  a fur- 
ther refinement  of  cruelty,  meant  to  combine  both  pain  and 
humiliation,  the  defaulters  are  sometimes  tied  by  the  hair  to 
the  tail  of  a donkey  or  a buffalo  ? that  they  are  occasionally 
hung  up  with  the  head  downwards  ? and  that  it  is  an  ordinary 
practice  to  put  pepper  or  powdered  chillies  into  the  eyes  or 
the  nostrils,  and  to  apply  these  and  similar  irritating  drugs  in 
other  ways  too  revolting  to  be  even  hinted  at  ? ” 


APPENDIX. 


363 


The  report  modestly  avoids  the  most  shocking  particulars, 
but  says  that  “ the  women  were  also  ill  treated,  and  the  kittee 
(hand  vice)  applied  to  their  breasts.” 

“ Nullandy  Naik  complains  that  his  son  and  his  son’s  wife, 
on  suspicion  of  being  concerned  in  a robbery,  were  hung  up 
by  the  hands  to  the  branch  of  a tamarind  tree  for  an  Indian 
hour,  and  beaten  with  tamarind  switches,  in  the  presence  of 
the  tahsildar.  The  woman  died  in  eight  days  afterwards, 
Naik  complained  to  the  judge,  but  4 no  notice  was  taken.’ 
Three  ryots  of  the  village  of  Coviloor  were  seized  at  night, 
on  a similar  suspicion,  taken  to  a cow  shed,  tied  up  by  the 
hands  to  the  roof  of  the  shed,  and  beaten  till  they  consented 
to  buy  themselves  off  by  a bribe  of  twenty -five  rupees.  They 
also  ‘ complained  to  the  magistrate,  and  proved  their  statement, 
both  as  to  the  beating  and  the  extortion ; but  they  got  no 
redress.’ 

“ There  is  not  one  of  the  forms  of  torture  here  described, 
of  which  the  appendix  of  the  report  does  not  contain  some 
examples.  The  use  of  the  lash  and  the  cudgel  is  frequent 
and  unsparing. 

“ In  the  village  of  Syadoorgum,  (in  the  Cudalore  district,) 
Soobapatha  Pillay  was  4 tied  hy  the  legs , and  hung  up  with  his 
head  downwards  ; ’ 6 they  put  poivdered  chilli  in  his  nostrils  ; ’ 
and  passed  a strong  tape  round  his  waist,  and  violently  tight- 
ened it.  Other  details  of  the  torture  inflicted  on  this  wretch 
are  too  revoltingly  indecent  to  be  referred  to.  It  is  right  to 
add,  however,  that  this  was  a police,  rather  than  a revenue, 
case.” 


CHRISTIANITY  ^5.  BARBARISM. 

But  one  slight  advantage  that  has  come  to  it  is,  that  Turkey 
has  got  the  reopening  of  the  trade  in  the  free-born  white  women 
of  Circassia  — the  traffic  in  Christian  slaves.  While  Russia 
predominated  in  the  Black  Sea,  the  sale  of  the  Circassians  was 


364 


APPENDIX. 


stayed ; Russia  called  the  trade  piracy  — contraband,  and  treat- 
ed it  so,  to  the  great  curtailment  of  Moslem  life  ; but  when  the 
Christian  allies  proceeded  thither,  as  the  champions  of  civiliza- 
tion and  justice,  when  they  shut  up  the  Russian  fleet  in  forti- 
fied harbors,  the  trade  was  reopened  with  greater  vigor  than 
before.  Such  is  one  fruit  of  the  intervention  of  the  Western 
powers  between  Turkey  and  Russia.  Now,  this  opening  o£ 
the  traffic  in  white  slaves  has  become  so  notorious  that  the 
Bishop  of  Oxford,  a member  of  the  House  of  Lords,  and  a 
son  of  William  Wilberforce,  of  abolition  memory,  — this  bish- 
op, after  long  pondering  of  the  circumstances,  thought  that  a 
decent  respect  for  lawn  sleeves  and  silk  apron  required  that 
he  should  do  something  in  the  matter  ; that  he  should  calmly, 
and  in  a Christian-like  manner,  advert  to  the  circumstances  in 
Parliament : so  he  mentioned  it  in  Parliament.  He  was  in- 
stantly satisfied  by  his  noble  friend,  Lord  Clarendon,  by  his 
being  assured  that  the  attention  of  government  was  turned  to 
that  painful  thing,  and  moreover,  that  Schamyl,  the  Circassian 
chief,  was  opposed  to  it.  The  bishop  knew  that  all  this  was 
false ; that  Schamyl  was  not  opposed  to  the  trade ; that  he 
had  warred  against  Russia  for  years  to  maintain  it ; but  he 
was  satisfied  that  he  had  done  his  duty,  and  he  sat  down  with 
all  the  becoming  satisfaction  that  a man  feels  who  has  done  a 
good  action  ; and  the  trade  remained,  and  still  remains,  grow- 
ing more  horrible  every  day.  And,  since  the  day  the  bishop 
so  called  the  attention  of  government  to  the  fact,  we  find  that 
the  trade  has  been  increasing  to  such  an  extent  that  the  old 
stock  of  slaves  had  become  utterly  valueless,  and  murder  has 
become  more  frequent  in  Constantinople.  Every  night  sacks, 
with  the  mangled  corpses  of  females,  are  thrown  into  the  Bos- 
phorus. Two  sentences  by  English  authors,  relied  on  by  the 
bishop,  will  give  some  idea  of  what  the  trade  is.  One  says, 
that  at  present  the  only  trade  carried  on  in  Constantinople  is 
that  in  white  women,  and  this  seems  to  be  extraordinarily 
active  at  present.  Another  — and,  to  his  credit  be  it  said,  he 
disapproves  of  it  — writes  from  Constantinople,  regretting  to 


APPENDIX. 


865 


see  that  the  slave  trade  is  on  the  increase ; every  boat  from 
the  port  of  Abazia  brings  in  ten  or  a dozen  white  Christian 
women  for  the  market  in  Constantinople,  while  even  the  Aus- 
trian steamers  do  not  refuse  to  bring  cargoes  of  hundreds  into 
port.  Think  of  this  British  nation  that  is  so  filled  with  horror, 
righteous  and  virtuous  horror,  at  the  black  slave  trade,  that  it 
sends  out  one  fleet  to  stop  the  trade  in  blacks  on  the  African 
coast,  and  sends  another  to  open  the  traffic  in  white  slaves. 

What  a profundity  of  hypocrisy  in  that  bishop,  and  all  the 
rest  of  the  bench  of  bishops,  to  sit  by  in  Parliament,  and  help 
with  their  votes,  and  give  by  their  votes  all  the  sanction  of 
religious  association  to  ail  the  abominations  of  English  rule  in 
east  and  west.  So  for  Cabool,  burned  down,  and  so  with  Ire- 
land, starved.  Lo ! unto  you,  hypocrites,  the  gory  soil  of  India 
will  long  cry  out  for  vengeance  on  your  hoary  heads.  Not  a 
Circassian  girl  will  float  in  a sack  down  the  Bosphorus,  stran- 
gled by  the  bowstring  of  her  master,  when  he  is  tired  of  her 
beauty,  but  it  will  cling  to  your  souls  to  curse  you  to  perdi- 
tion.— J.  Mitchel . 


KILLING  NO  MURDER. 

The  sentence  of  death  passed  upon  Caroline  Sherwood,  at 
the  Sussex  Assizes,  lately,  for  the  murder  of  her  child,  has 
been  commuted  to  transportation  for  life.  A similar  commu- 
tation of  punishment  has  also  taken  place  in  the  case  of  Jane 
Clenworth,  convicted  at  the  Assizes  at  Bodmin,  recently,  of 
drowning  a child  intrusted  to  her  by  its  mother,  under  pre- 
tence of  having  occasion  to  leave  it  for  a short  time  to  make 
some  purchases,  but  with  the  intention,  as  subsequent  events 
proved,  of  deserting  it.  Ann  Marshall,  who,  with  two  other 
persons,  was  convicted  at  the  High  Court  of  Justiciary  at  Ed- 
inburgh of  throwing  a man  out  of  the  window  of  a brothel, 
whereby  he  was  killed  on  the  spot,  has  also  been  reprieved  by 
her  Majesty.  What  peculiar  claim  these  female  miscreants 
had  upon  the  royal  mercy,  we  are  at  a loss  to  know. 

31* 


866 


APPENDIX. 


A WIFE  AT  AUCTION. 

One  of  those  disgraceful  scenes,  the  sale  of  a wife,  was  very 
nearly  being  witnessed  in  Boston  (England)  market  place  re- 
cently. A large  concourse  of  people  assembled  in  the  expec- 
tation of  seeing  the  disgusting  exhibition,  but  fortunately  the 
town  was  spared  the  degradation.  It  is  said  that  the  auction- 
eer, being  dubious  as  to  the  legality  of  the  proceeding,  declined 
to  act.  The  young  woman  proceeded  towards  her  home,  fol- 
lowed by  a large  mob  of  people,  yelling  and  hooting  in  a 
frightful  manner,  and  who  showed  such  a disposition  to  attack 
her,  that  she  was  compelled  to  seek  refuge  in  the  Woolpack 
Inn.  Here  Superintendent  Hambleton  took  her  under  his 
protection,  and  eventually  got  her  out  the  back  way,  unseen 
and  in  safety.  It  appears  that  she  had  not  lived  with  her 
husband  for  some  time  past,  and  that  he  proposed  to  her  this 
plan  of  effecting  a permanent  separation,  which  she  gladly 
accepted,  believing  it  to  be  perfectly  legitimate  and  regular.  — 
Stamford  Mercury . 


THE  CRIME  OF  POVERTY. 

The  Halifax  Guardian  publishes  a proceeding  of  a board 
of  poor  law  guardians  and  magistrates.  Five  men,  described 
as  very  respectable  working  men,  out  of  employment,  were 
brought  up  before  these  magistrates,  charged  with  nothing  in 
the  world  but  with  having  no  money,  and  with  having  applied 
at  the  workhouse  the  previous  night  for  a night’s  shelter  — 
which,  by  the  way,  was  refused  them.  They  were  guilty  of 
the  crime  of  poverty.  These  five  respectable  working  men, 
out  of  employment,  were  committed  to  a felon’s  cell  in  the  jail, 
and  sent  to  hard  labor  ; u for,”  said  the  magistrates,  “ they  are 
candidates  for  hard  labor,  — they  are  looking  for  work,  — let 


APPENDIX. 


367 


them  have  it  on  the  tread  mill.”  The  report  goes  on  to  state 
that  the  innocent  mayor  of  Halifax  remonstrated.  “ How  is 
that  ? ” said  the  mayor,  who  did  not  feel  authorized  to  commit 
men  to  prison  unless  they  had  committed  some  offence.  “ But 
what  is  a man  to  do  ? ” said  Mr.  Farnham.  “ Why,  they  must 
go  to  jail.”  In  vain  some  suggested  on  that  occasion,  that  if 
they  were  turned  from  the  door  of  the  poorhouse  they  would 
till  up  the  jail,  and  what  advantage  would  it  be?  In  vain 
they  urged  there  would  be  no  gain,  inasmuch  as  they  were 
still  supported  by  the  county,  and  men  out  of  employment 
would  get  in  jail  for  a shelter  ; so  that  in  this  happy,  prosper- 
ous country,  there  are  a number  of  respectable  laboring  men 
out  of  employ  that  are  happy  to  get  into  jail  to  secure  bread 
to  eat. 

But  if  he  be  fortunate  enough  to  get  into  the  workhouse,  how 
is  it  ? Let  me  give  a fact.  In  the  city  of  London,  two  of  the 
richest  parishes  are  St.  Pancras  and  Mary-le-bone.  Each  has 
its  workhouse  Bastile ; and  it  has  come  out,  by  mere  accident, 
that,  in  each,  they  are  in  the  habit  of  flogging  women  ; of 
keeping  them  in  order  by  flogging;  poor  women,  guilty  of 
that  unpardonable  offence  against  the  London  Holy  Ghost  — 
poverty.  A small  publication  has  been  got  up  since  the  rev- 
elation of  this  treatment,  and  it  is  sold  by  hundreds  and  thou- 
sands of  copies  among  the  working  classes.  It  is  entitled 
Dred : a Tale  of  the  Mary-le-bone  Workhouse . In  the  style 
of  the  work,  well  known  under  a similar  title,  it  asks,  Where 
are  the  Earl  of  Shaftesbury  and  the  Duchess  of  Sutherland  ? 
Where  are  those  men  who  keep  audiences  sobbing,  as  they 
detail  the  sufferings  of  the  blacks  of  this  country  ? Alas  for 
Mary  and  Sophia  Elizabeth,  for  their  names  have  become 
“ familiar  as  household  words  ” — their  skins  are  white ! Ex- 
eter Hall  has  no  tears  for  them.  — J,  Mitchel. 


368 


APPENDIX. 


PROSTITUTION  IN  LONDON. 

AGITATION  AGAINST  THE  UNFORTUNATES.  OCCASIONAL 

MUNICIPAL  CRUSADES  INJURIOUS.  — CURIOUS  STATISTICS. 

LICENSING  THE  HOUSES  ADVOCATED. 

From  the  London  Globe , January  15,  1858. 

Yesterday  afternoon  an  influential  meeting  of  gentlemen, 
including  several  clergymen  connected  with  West  End  parishes, 
was  held  at  the  rooms  of  the  Society  for  the  Suppression  of 
Vice,  Lincoln’s  Inn  Fields,  for  the  purpose  of  considering  and 
bringing  under  the  notice  of  the  government  the  steps  that 
should  be  taken  to  suppress  the  open  exhibition  of  street  pros- 
titution in  various  parts  of  the  metropolis. 

Mr.  Beaumont  was  called  to  the  chair,  and  observed  that  he 
was  glad  to  see  so  general  an  interest  elicited  on  this  subject, 
and  that  he  hoped  it  would  lead  to  some  practical  result.  It 
would,  in  fact,  be  impossible  to  aggravate  the  evil,  for  neither 
in  Paris,  Berlin,  New  York,  nor  even  in  the  cities  of  Asia, 
was  there  such  a public  exhibition  of  profligacy.  There  was 
a plausible  fallacy  connected  with  this  subject,  to  the  effect 
that  if  the  unfortunate  women  who  infested  the  streets  were 
driven  from  one  locality  they  would  go  to  another.  But,  even 
if  this  were  true,  it  would  be  something  to  dilute  the  evil,  and 
enable  respectable  women  to  pass  along  thoroughfares  like  the 
Haymarket  without  being  exposed  to  insult.  It  was  not,  how- 
ever, the  fact,  that  if  vice  were  removed  from  one  neighbor- 
hood, it  would  necessarily  exist  in  another.  It  was  true,  the 
evil  would  continue  to  exist,  but  not  in  the  same  degree  ; 
neither  would  there  be  that  open  and  public  exhibition  of 
profligacy  which  offered  such  a temptation  to  the  unwary. 
He  believed  that  Sir  George  Grey  and  Sir  Richard  Mayne 
would  do  much,  if  any  practical  suggestions  were  made  to 
them  to  deal  with  the  supper  rooms,  cigar  shops,  and  night 
houses,  which  were  the  great  feeders  of  street  prostitution. 


APPENDIX. 


869 


Mr.  Crane,  one  of  the  church  wardens  of  St.  James’,  Picca- 
dilly, said  that  in  his  opinion  no  permanent  cure  of  evil  could 
be  effected  until  the  law  were  so  simplified  that  it  could  be 
carried  into  effect  without  difficulty.  In  prosecutions  against 
the  keepers  of  brothels,  for  instance,  the  difficulty  of  obtaining 
the  class  of  evidence  necessary  to  secure  a conviction  was  so 
great,  that  many  offenders  were  enabled  to  escape  the  penal- 
ties of  the  law.  He  thought  it  would  be  also  well  to  strengthen 
the  hands  of  the  police  by  enabling  them  to  control  night  houses. 

Mr.  Acton  (late  surgeon  to  the  Islington  Dispensary,  and 
Fellow  of  the  Royal  Medical  Society)  said,  that  in  his  opin- 
ion the  subject  under  discussion  was  one  worth  legislating  for. 
As  a surgeon,  he  had  investigated  the  subject  not  only  in  Lon- 
don, but  in  Paris  and  other  continental  capitals,  and  he  could 
speak  with  some  authority  as  to  the  statistics  of  prostitution, 
and  the  manner  in  which  the  women  became,  as  it  were,  ab- 
sorbed in  the  population  by  whom  they  were  surrounded. 
From  calculations  based  upon  the  census  tables , it  had  come  out , 
that  of  all  the  unmarried  women  of  full  age  in  the  country , one 
in  every  thirteen  or  fourteen  ivas  immoral . This  might  appear 
a startling  announcement ; but  the  calculation  had  been  made 
upon  returns  the  truth  of  which  had  not  been  questioned.  It 
was  a popular  error  to  suppose  that  these  women  died  young, 
and  made  their  exits  from  life  in  hospitals  and  workhouses. 
The  fact  was  not  so.  Women  of  that  class  were  all  picked 
lives,  and  dissipation  did  not  usually  kill  them.  They  led  a 
life  of  prostitution  for  two,  three,  or  four  years,  and  then  either 
married  or  got  into  some  service  or  employment,  and  gradually 
became  amalgamated  with  society.  It  was  estimated  that  in 
this  manner  about  twenty-five  per  cent,  of  the  whole  number 
amalgamated  each  year  with  the  population.  Mr.  Acton  con- 
cluded by  moving,  — 

“ That  a deputation  do  wait  as  early  as  possible  upon  Sir 
George  Grey,  for  the  purpose  of  most  respectfully  but  ear- 
nestly representing  to  her  Majesty’s  government  the  necessity 
of  effectual  measures  being  taken  to  put  down  the  open  exhi- 


370 


APPENDIX. 


bition  of  street  prostitution,  which  in  various  parts  of  the  me- 
tropolis, particularly  in  the  important  thoroughfares  of  the 
Ilaymarket,  Coventry  Street,  Regent  Street,  Portland  Place, 
and  other  adjacent  localities,  is  carried  on  with  a disregard  of 
public  decency,  and  to  an  extent  tolerated  in  no  other  capital 
or  city  of  the  civilized  world.” 

Mr.  Stevens  moved  the  second  resolution,  — 

“ That  such  deputation  be  instructed  to  urge  upon  her 
Majesty’s  government  the  following  measures,  whereby  it  is 
believed  that  the  evil  complained  of  may  be  effectually  con- 
trolled : — 

“ Firstly,  the  enforcement,  upon  a systematic  plan,  and  by 
means  of  a department  of  the  police  specially  appointed  and 
instructed  for  that  purpose,  of  the  provisions  of  the  2d  and  3d 
of  Victoria,  cap.  47,  in  reference  to  street  prostitution,  which 
provisions  have,  in  certain  localities,  been  heretofore  carried 
out  with  the  best  effect,  and  in  others  have  been  ineffectual 
only  because  acted  upon  partially,  and  not  upon  any  uniform 
system. 

“ And,  secondly,  for  passing  an  act  for  licensing  and  placing 
under  proper  regulations  as  to  supervision  and  hours  of  clos- 
ing all  houses  of  entertainment,  or  for  the  supply  of  refresh- 
ments, intended  to  be  opened  to  the  public  after  a certain  fixed 
hour,  it  being  matter  of  public  notoriety  that  the  houses  of  this 
description,  popularly  known  as  night  houses,  have,  by  becom- 
ing the  places  of  resort  of  crowds  of  prostitutes,  and  other  idle 
and  disorderly  £>ersons,  at  all  hours  of  the  night,  greatly  con- 
tributed to  the  present  disgraceful  exhibition  of  street  pros- 
titution.” 

Professor  Marks  moved,  — 

“ That  the  attention  of  the  government  be  also  directed  to 
the  number  of  foreign  prostitutes  systematically  imported  into 
this  country,  and  to  the  means  of  controlling  this  evil.” 

Sir  J.  Hamilton  seconded  the  motion. 

Mr.  Horace  Green  considered  it  due  to  the  association  to 
clear  up  the  misapprehension  of  their  sentiments  which  had 


APPENDIX. 


371 


arisen  from  a misreport  of  liis  remarks  at  the  last  meeting. 
He  would  now  state  his  impression  at  some  length,  and  trusted 
the  press  would  give  as  great  publicity  to  the  amended  version 
as  they  had  done  to  an  erroneous  one.  He  begged  to  remind 
the  meeting  that  a change  had  already  been  effected  through 
the  action  of  the  police  in  the  aspect  of  the  Haymarket  and 
Regent  Street,  heretofore  so  much  complained  of.  The  sense 
that  the  public  eye  was  upon  their  class  had  caused  a corre- 
sponding amendment  in  the  dress  and  demeanor  of  the  females 
frequenting  those  streets  ; and  the  objects  of  this  association 
were,  so  far,  in  good  train.  Strongly  oppressive,  or,  as  some 
delicately  said,  repressive,  measures  could  only  be  carried  out 
by  an  extent  of  police  interference  inconsistent  with  the  preju- 
dices of  English  people,  who  were  indisposed  to  deny  a large 
extent  of  personal  freedom  to  persons  of  even  the  most  disor- 
derly classes  who  had  not  absolutely  forfeited  their  civil  rights. 
If  the  association  went  the  length  of  advocating  that  the  act 
of  prostitution  should  involve  such  forfeiture,  and  the  entire 
riddance  of  London  streets  from  the  presence  of  prostitutes, 
they  would  soon  find  their  hands  over  full.  Unless  they 
thought  it  possible  to  exterminate  the  vice  altogether,  they 
would  find  that  its  wholesale  clearance  from  the  streets  would 
necessitate  registration,  licensing,  and  confinement  in  certain 
authorized  quarters  or  streets,  as  prevailed  abroad ; but  such 
restrictions  would  entail  a more  ample  recognition  and  legal- 
ization than  had  hitherto  obtained,  and  so  ample  indeed  as 
to  be  very  distasteful  to  what  was  called  the  religious  public. 
It  had  been  objected  to  him  that  the  public  liberty  of  the 
young  and  virtuous  should  not  be  sacrificed  to  that  of  the 
vicious.  It  was  said  to  be  shameful  that  youths  should  be  in 
peril  of  temptation,  and  virtuous  women  shocked  by  the  parade 
of  immorality,  to  maintain  the  personal  freedom  of  a limited 
number  of  street  walkers.  But  how,  he  would  ask,  was  the 
diagnosis  between  virtue  and  immorality  to  be  effected  ? It 
would  be  obviously  unjust  to  exempt  from  pressure  the  lady- 
like, prosperous  harlot,  while  a miserable,  vulgar,  painted  out- 


372 


APPENDIX. 


cast  was  consignable,  because  she  stood  out  from  the  picture 
somewhat  broadly,  to  the  police  cell  and  the  bridewell.  It 
must  not  be  forgotten  that,  in  considering  sweeping  measures, 
the  cost  of  sucli  agency  would  be  alarming.  What  was  done 
for  the  morality  and  comfort  of  St.  James’s,  must  not  be  de- 
nied to  Whitechapel  and  St.  Giles’s.  The  tax  payers  of  Lon- 
don, who  were  taking  up  the  cry  for  street  purgation  rather 
inconsiderately,  would  be  no  parties  to  a general  rate  for  such 
an  item  of  local  management.  The  meeting  must  be  aware 
that  there  was  already  abroad  among  the  lower  half-million  of 
Londoners  an  impression  that  the  police  was  already  strict 
enough,  and  that  this  opinion  was  shared  by  numbers  of  intel- 
ligent men,  neither  paupers  nor  criminals.  They  must  remem- 
ber that  many  a gentleman  of  character  had  passed  a night  in 
a police  cell  for  interfering  in  the  defence  of  prostitutes  against 
the  police.  And  this  sentiment  would  deepen  very  danger- 
ously if  the  police  pressure  were  put  on  double,  or,  as  some 
would  have  it,  tenfold.  The  very  policemen,  too, — men  sprung 
from  the  same  class  of  society  as  those  female  offenders,  — were 
as  likely  as  any  one  else  to  be  fainthearted  in  the  work  of  re- 
lieving the  eyes  and  ears  of  gentility  from  the  presence  of  those 
whose  situation  they  were  not  slow  to  trace  to  the  schemes  and 
desires  of  the  genteel  class.  He  did  not  think  that  the  power 
of  discrimination  could  be  safely  intrusted  to  the  ill-paid  con- 
stables of  the  metropolitan  police,  and  the  association  of  cer- 
tain rate  payers  with  the  police  as  witnesses,  as  hinted  at  by 
one  of  the  delegates,  would  soon,  if  established,  fall  into  des- 
uetude. With  the  view  of  checking  the  evil  in  a satisfactory 
manner,  he  would  recommend  the  institution  of  a special  ser- 
vice of  strict  orderlies  or  regulators,  in  uniform,  a well-paid, 
superior,  temperate,  and  discreet  class  of  men,  if  possible, 
whose  functions  should  be  to  observe,  not  to  spy,  upon  all 
prostitutes,  especially  those  of  the  street-walking  order,  and 
whose  circulation,  as  opposed  to  loitering  and  haunting  partic- 
ular spots,  they  should  insist  upon.  They  should  work,  not  by 
threats,  but  by  entreaty,  advice,  suggestion  ; but  in  case  of 


APPENDIX. 


373 


contumacy,  should  have  the  right  to  call  in  the  regular  force. 
The  calling  of  the  foreign  women  in  Regent  Street  would  soon 
fail  if  a certain  number  of  these  officers  were  sprinkled  among 
them.  If  they  changed  their  scene  of  operations  without 
change  of  system,  they  should  be  similarly  harassed,  for  the 
streets  were  as  free  to  the  police  as  to  the  public;  but  the 
chances  were  that  both  women-farmers  and  their  victims 
would  soon  find  out  their  own  interests  in  complying  with 
the  demands  of  society,  and  enlarge  the  radius  of  their  beats 
from  yards  to  miles.  As  regarded  the  blockade  of  the  Hay- 
market,  that  street  being  in  the  vicinity  of  theatres,  and  such 
obstructions  in  such  streets  being  provided  for  by  the  5 2d 
clause  of  the  Police  act,  he  thought  it  ought  to  be  cleared  by 
the  police  for  a short  time  at  the  time  of  closing  the  theatres, 
and  be  treated  as  an  avenue  or  approach  to  those  theatres. 
He  believed  that  the  right  of  entry  and  inspection  of  all  places 
of  ill  fame  should  be  vested  in  the  home  secretary  and  his  del- 
egates, and  this  would  be  attained  least  oppressively  by  a proper 
system  of  licensing.  Forced  concentration  would  not  be  tol- 
erated here ; but  concentration  was  valuable,  as  bringing  im- 
morality more  under  control.  Parochial  crusades,  though 
prima  facie  a public  blessing,  had  often  the  effect  of  spread- 
ing corruption.  It  was  recollected  at  Cambridge  that  when  a 
certain  proctor  made  very  frequent  descents  upon  the  hamlet 
of  Barnwall,  where  much  of  the  parasitical  vices  of  that  uni- 
versity had  taken  root,  the  people  in  question,  far  from  cure 
or  conversion,  merely  extended  their  radius  into  more  rural 
villages.  These  were  so  soon  corrupted  that  representations 
were  addressed  to  the  university  by  the  parochial  clergy,  pray- 
ing that  the  plague  of  Barnwall  should  be  confined  to  its  old 
bounds,  and  not  let  loose  upon  their  simpler  parishes.  It  was 
notorious  that  the  same  kind  of  thing  followed,  on  a very  large 
scale,  the  expulsion  of  prostitutes  from  Brussels,  and  it  could 
not  be  supposed  that  the  attempt  to  strangle  the  growth  of  im- 
morality by  broadcasting  its  seeds,  which  was  found  impracti- 
cable under  the  powerful  discipline  of  the  English  university 

32 


374 


APPENDIX. 


and  the  Belgian  capital,  could  answer  among  this  enormous, 
and,  when  roused,  unmanageable  population.  The  evicted  of 
Noron  Street,  in  the  parish  of  All  Souls,  had  settled  quietly 
down  in  the  next  parish.  Incompressible  as  water,  the  vice 
had  but  shifted  its  ground,  and  from  a really  moral  point  of 
view,  more  harm  than  good  had  accrued  from  the  change. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Kemp  said  it  was  very  satisfactory  to  learn 
that  the  evil  was  already  somewhat  abated  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  ITaymarket — a fact  which  he  attributed,  in  a great 
measure,  to  the  closing  of  the  Argyle  Rooms. 


THE  DARK  DAYS  OF  1855.— SPIRITUALISM 
AND  THE  MURDER  CALENDAR. 

There  is  not  much  doubt  that  in  point  of  morals  in  the 
United  States  we  are  retrograding.  We  build  great  clippers 
and  astonishing  bridges,  but  in  the  arts  we  are  behind  the  old 
Greeks ; in  the  graces  we  sadly  need  missionaries ; a wild  In- 
dian is  more  polite,  more  generous,  more  civilized  than  many 
a New  York  politician.  In  morals  we  have  examples  of  de- 
formity almost  as  gross  as  those  of  the  lowest  South  Sea 
Islanders ; and  future  historians  will  write  that  we  are  more 
superstitious  and  bigoted  than  the  most  insane  worshipper  of 
Brahma,  the  most  profound  devotee  of  Johanna  Southcote,  or 
the  most  ardent  disciple  of  witch-hanging,  Quaker-whipping 
Cotton  Mather. 

The  criminal  calendar  of  1855  will  substantiate  a great  deal 
of  what  we  have  said.  The  Mormons  at  Utah,  the  Free  Lov- 
ers in  New  York  and  Wisconsin,  the  insane  asylums  filled  with 
maniacs  on  the  subject  of  spiritualism,  the  general  tendency 
on  the  part  of  a large  portion  of  our  infatuated  people  to  run 
after  any  thing  that  is  new,  however  absurd  it  may  be,  and  the 
readiness  of  certain  presses  to  sustain  novel  doctrines,  without 
any  regard  to  their  foundation  and  tendency,  is  further  evi- 


APPENDIX. 


375 


dence  that,  although  we  may  be  “ smart  people  ” in  the  mak- 
ing of  revolvers  and  patent  pitchforks,  we  are  in  some  respects 
the  greatest  mass  of  fools  that  ever  lived  in  any  age  of  the 
world. 


RELIGIOUS  DELUSION. 

The  New  York  Herald,  in  a leading  article,  December  28, 
1856,  says,  — 

“ There  is  not  an  insane  asylum  in  the  country  that  does 
not  contain  one  or  more  victims  of  this  delusion,  and  their  in- 
sanity is  generally  incurable.  In  New  Haven,  Connecticut, 
last  week,  a most  horrible  murder  was  committed  by  the  dupes 
of  an  old  woman,  who  pretends  that  she  is  one  raised  from  the 
dead,  and  who  has  quite  a large  circle  of  followers.  The  scene 
was  more  horrible  than  any  that  transpired  in  Massachusetts 
during  the  dark  days  of  the  Salem  witchcraft  delusion.  A 
man  named  Mathews,  it  seems,  was  blindfolded,  bound,  and 
murdered  by  the  New  Haven  maniacs,  on  the  ground  that  he 
was  possessed  by  an  evil  spirit  that  must  be  cast  out.  His 
sister  blindfolded  him,  and  tied  his  hands.  One  woman  tes- 
tified, at  the  inquest,  that  she  believed  in  the  divinity  of  Mrs. 
Wakeman,  (the  prophetess.)  4 I believe,’  said  this  witness, 
Abigail  Sables  by  name,  4 that  judgment  would  come  if  Mrs. 
Wakeman  should  die;  Mathews  (the  dead  man)  was  driving 
away  her  spirit  with  his  evil  powers.’  She  also  swore  that 
Mathews  fasted  three  days  in  order  to  starve  out  the  evil 
spirit.  It  further  appeared  that  the  murdered  man  was  per- 
suaded that  if  he  offered  himself  up  as  a sacrifice,  the  millen- 
nium would  come ; and  that  he  consented.  He  was  first 
knocked  down  with  a club,  his  skull  fractured,  and  his  throat 
cut.  Ten  or  twelve  people  were  in  the  house ; they  all  heard 
his  cries,  but  made  no  effort  to  help  him.  All  this  transpired 
in  the  nineteenth  century,  in  the  pleasant  city  of  New  Haven, 
the  capital  of  the  moral  State  of  Connecticut,  which  is  distin- 


37G 


APPENDIX. 


guished  for  the  piety  and  enlightenment  of  its  people,  the  ex- 
cellence and  number  of  its  common  schools.  Let  us  not  talk 
about  foreign  missions.  We  could  take  a lesson  in  decency 
and  true  religion  from  the  man  eaters  of  Borneo.” 


FORTUNE  TELLERS. 

We  venture  to  say  that  nine  tenths  of  the  seductions  accom- 
plished among  the  working  girls,  are  the  results  of  fortune- 
telling machinations.  The  fortune  tellers  also  get  hold  of 
shallow-pated  wives  and  husbands,  and  create  domestic  dis- 
cords which  never  can  be  healed.  In  several  instances  of 
this  sort  of  interference  that  have  come  to  our  knowledge, 
families  have  been  broken  up,  and  children  unjustly  disin- 
herited and  sent  forth  into  the  world  poor,  miserable,  and 
hopeless. 

Now,  is  it  not  remarkable  — is  it  not  wondrous  — that  these 
wretches,  arrogating  to  themselves  the  attributes  of  God,  and 
pursuing  a system  of  fraud,  sensuality,  and  error  that  is  mon- 
strous, should  be  allowed  to  flourish  unmolestedly  in  this  com- 
munity ? 


POOR  IRISH  GIRLS. 

The  majority  of  the  female  victims  of  crime  and  disease  in 
our  public  hospitals  a,re  Irish.  The  simple  reason  of  this  is, 
that  the  German  and  American  nymphs  understand  their  busi- 
ness, and  move  in  a more  respectable  sphere.  But  the  poor 
Irish  girls,  seduced  in  American  families,  thrown  upon  the 
wicked  world,  find  their  way  to  the  public  hospital  or  the  mad 
house.  Among  their  own  people,  the  Irish  girls  are  the  purest 
on  earth.  But  to  the  disgrace  of  American  Catholics  be  it  said, 
that  here  they  have  done  little  or  nothing  to  protect,  reclaim, 
or  aid  the  poor  wanderers. 


APPENDIX. 


377 


IRISH  AND  AMERICANS. 

In  answer  to  American  attacks  upon  the  Irish,  the  Boston 
Pilot  lately  said,  — 

“ Though  the  poorest,  and  the  hardest  working  portion  of 
the  community,  they  are  very  far  from  being  the  most  vicious. 
The  misdoings  among  them  are  upon  the  surface,  — open  as 
the  day,  — and  do  not  indicate  that  grave  degree  of  moral  tur- 
pitude which  is  to  be  found  within  the  native  class.  Take 
Boston,  for  instance : the  immigrant  class  constitute  about  one 
third  of  the  population ; but,  of  the  unfortunately  very  large 
numbers  of  persons  engaged  in  the  most  demoralizing  course 
of  life,  not  one  in  twenty  belongs  to  the  immigrant  class,  not- 
withstanding the  deep  and  discouraging  poverty  of  most  of 
them.  Drinking,  brawling,  and  fighting  are  censurable,  un- 
questionably, and  frequently  bring  those  who  are  guilty  of 
them  under  the  animadversion  of  the  law ; but  there  are  other 
immoralities  practised  in  Boston,  in  comparison  with  which 
these  offences  almost  rise  to  the  rank  of  virtues.  But  we  look 
elsewhere  than  among  the  immigrant  class  for  the  greatest  por- 
tion of  those  who  practise  these  immoralities  as  a vocation,  or 
as  habitual  votaries  of  vice.  Counting  both  sexes,  we  have  a 
morally  ruined  class  of  at  least  ten  thousand  in  Boston,  nearly 
all  natives.  We  have,  it  is  estimated  by  those  who  have  been 
in  a position  to  know,  a thousand  native  females  who  are 
privately  supported  by  married  men.  Connected  with  these 
destructively  immoral  relations  has  grown  up  a numerous  pro- 
fession, whose  vocation  is  to  conceal,  by  certain  criminal  prac- 
tices, the  natural  effects  of  guilty  intercourse.  Recent  statutes 
prove  that  the  evil  had  reached  such  a height  that  the  inter- 
ference of  legislation  was  deemed  necessary;  but  it  Ms  not 
availed  to  check  it.  Connected  with  it,  also,  are  constantly 
occurring  crimes  of  theft,  embezzlement,  and  swindling ; and  to 
this  dark  catalogue  may  be  added  suicide,  where  the  professors 
of  the  ‘ black  art  ’ fail  in  their  attempts  at  concealment.” 

32  * 


378 


APPENDIX. 


BURIAL  CLUBS. 

From  the  London  Times. 

TnE  foundation  of  human  society,  it  is  commonly  felt,  is 
laid  in  that  deep  and  almost  invincible  instinct  which  leads  the 
mother  to  watch  over  the  life  and  wellbeing  of  her  child.  Ex- 
cept in  those  terrible  cases  where  the  social  existence  of  the 
mother  is  at  stake,  and,  after  a frenzied  struggle,  the  fate  of 
the  offspring  is  sealed  ere  it  be  born,  the  spectacle  of  a parent 
deliberately  allowing  and  even  compassing  the  death  of  the 
child,  is  more  unnatural  than  suicide,  more  atrocious  than 
murder,  more  hideous  than  sacrilege,  and  more  monstrous 
than  any  other  extravagance  of  crime.  Yet  the  grand  jury 
at  the  Liverpool  Assizes,  presided  over  by  the  enlightened 
and  dispassionate  member  for  South  Lancashire,  are  unan- 
imously of  opinion  that  the  interference  of  the  legislature  is 
imperatively  called  on  to  arrest  the  frightful  progress  of  this 
crime  — to  arrest  it  by  preventing  the  pecuniary  temptation 
afforded  by  “ Burial  Clubs.”  As  matters  now  stand,  a parent 
may  insure  in  one  or  several  of  these  societies,  and  by 
a small  weekly  subscription  secure  the  payment  of  several 
pounds,  in  the  event  of  a child’s  death,  for  the  vain  consola- 
tion of  a handsome  funeral.  A payment  may  be  secured  far 
beyond  the  wants  of  the  occasion,  and,  in  order  to  procure  a 
few  pounds  that  must  soon  be  dissipated,  as  the  wages  of  crime 
always  are,  there  are  found  parents  who  will  put  a child  into 
several  burial  clubs,  carefully  pay  up  for  several  weeks,  and 
finish  the  horrible  speculation  by  the  murder  of  the  unsus- 
pecting child,  and  the  mockery  of  a mournful  ceremonial. 
This  crime  is  said  to  be  increasing.  The  grand  jury  has  no 
doubt  that  the  system  of  burial  clubs  operates  as  a direct  in- 
centive to  murder,  and  that  many  of  their  fellow-beings  are, 
year  by  year,  hurried  into  eternity  by  those  most  closely 
united  to  them  by  the  ties  of  nature  and  of  blood,  if  not  of 


APPENDIX. 


379 


affection,  for  the  sake  of  a few  pounds.  Such  is  the  state  of 
things,  such  the  tendency,  such  the  new  era  opening  to  us  in 
the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century,  after  generations  of  phi- 
lanthropy, education,  and  reform.  The  worst  scandals  of  bar- 
barism are  revived  and  surpassed  by  those  of  civilization.  To 
the  brutality  of  the  savage  are  added  the  mercenary  calcula- 
tions of  a civilized  age.  The  homeless  wanderer  that  deserts 
the  child  she  can  no  longer  feed  or  carry,  the  Spartan  parent 
that  sacrifices  a maimed  and  therefore  useless  progeny,  the 
pagan  devotee  that  offers  the  blameless  victim  on  the  shrine 
of  some  hideous  deity,  and  all  other  forms  of  infanticide,  are 
surpassed  in  a new  crime,  which  does  all  this  for  the  sake  of 
a little  money,  and  the  few  momentary  indulgences  it  may 
purchase.  In  a time  of  peace,  fulness,  and  security,  the  worst 
horror  of  the  besieged  city  is  perpetrated,  not  to  satisfy  the 
ravenous  appetite  of  a delirious  mother,  but,  on  a sober  calcu- 
lation, to  buy  a few  days’  holiday,  a dress  or  two,  and  some 
superfluous  comforts.  Scores  of  such  cases  have  been  detected 
and  punished  ; many  more  are  suspected ; they  are  pronounced 
frequent  and  increasing ; and  the  legislature  is  invoked  to  with- 
draw the  irresistible  pecuniary  temptation. 

To  stop  the  practice  of  burial  clubs,  or  to  put  them  under 
such  limitations  and  rules  as  shall  render  the  loss  of  a child 
no  gain  to  the  parent,  is  a practical  measure,  which  goes  to 
the  root  of  the  crime  in  its  actual  and  developed  form.  To 
that  there  can  be  no  objection,  ignominious  as  it  must  be  to  the 
Senate  of  this  great  empire  to  recognize  so  hideous  a crime, 
not  in  a subject  tribe,  but  in  its  own  manufacturing  population 
at  home.  At  the  risk  of  publishing  the  scandal  in  the  ears  of 
all  our  enemies  and  calumniators,  this  must  be  done.  As  to 
the  value  of  the  other  suggestion  offered  by  the  grand  jury, 
there  may  be  different  opinions.  For  our  own  part,  we  can- 
not help  fearing  that,  if  nature  proves  insufficient  to  keep  the 
mother  from  murdering  her  child,  education  can  do  little  more. 
This  is  not  an  offence  against  knowledge,  but  against  instinct, 
and  the  first  laws  of  our  physical  and  moral  being.  “ Can  a 


380 


APPENDIX. 


mother  forget  her  sucking  child  ? ” Can  she  learn  more  than 
nature  teaches  her  ? Can  she  acquire  at  school  a feeling  which 
maternity  has  failed  to  generate  ■ Much  may  be  done,  indeed, 
by  the  general  improvement  of  the  working  classes,  and  by 
brineim*  them  more  under  the  eye  and  within  the  civilizing 
and  moralizing  influence  of  their  superiors.  Say  what  sat- 
irists will  of  the  vulgarity  of  the  middle  class,  the  fireside  in 
that  rank  of  life  is  the  home  of  domestic  virtues,  and,  as  a 
general  rule,  may  teach  some  good  lessons  to  the  ranks  both 
above  and  below.  But  more  must  be  done  than  is  now  done 
to  cement  the  different  orders  of  society,  and  introduce  them 
one  to  another.  The  great  work  of  the  day  is  to  fill  up,  if  it 
may  be,  that  now  almost  impassable  gulf  that  yawns  between 
the  employers  and  the  employed  nowhere  so  much  as  in  our 
great  manufacturing  cities.  It  is  not  the  village  laborer,  with 
his  ten  hungry  mouths  to  be  fed  out  of  as  many  shillings  a 
week,  who  does  this  horrid  deed,  but  the  occupant  of  some 
cellar  or  garret,  under  the  smoke  of  tall  chimneys,  and  ’near 
the  ceaseless  bur  of  machinery.  Uncared  for,  unvisited,  un- 
sought, and  unknown ; buried  in  sensuality,  and  hardened  by 
want ; dark  and  moody,  aimless  and  miserable,  the  wretched 
parent  conceives  a morbid  longing  for  some  indulgences  be- 
yond her  means,  and  having  no  pure  and  kindly  influences  to 
correct  the  horrid  craving,  lets  it  take  its  course,  and  sinks  to 
a depth  below  humanity  and  brute  nature  itself. 

But,  while  the  grand  jury  of  Liverpool  are  quietly  suggest- 
ing legislative  remedies,  another  still  more  serious  comment 
will  suggest  itself  to  many  a reflective  mind.  Such  a crime  is 
more  than  a crime  ; it  is  a prodigy  — a portent  — and  has  its 
horrid  significance.  A deed  scarcely  more  hideous,  and  sub- 
stantially the  same,  but  with  more  temptation,  marked  the 
character  of  an  awful  siege,  and  the  doom  of  a protected,  but 
then  abandoned,  people.  When  the  mother  had  forgotten  her 
sucking  child,  then  Heaven  forgot  its  chosen  race,  and  surren- 
dered it  to  the  fury  of  the  nations.  The  people  whose  land 


APPENDIX. 


381 


was  thus  first  defiled,  and  then  profaned,  had  left  their  deliv- 
erer and  the  guide  of  their  youth.  The  general  wreck  of  nat- 
ural feeling  was  consummated  and  represented  in  one  hideous 
act.  But  when  we  find  among  ourselves  not  one  act  alone, 
but  a prevailing  and  still  increasing  practice  of  the  character 
thus  denounced,  ought  we  not  to  draw  the  most  fearful  sur- 
mises as  to  the  general  depravation  of  domestic  feeling  ? 
Here  are  children  born,  nursed,  nourished,  fed,  clothed,  taught 
to  meet  the  mother’s  smile,  to  lisp  the  mother’s  name,  to  stand 
upright,  and  make  their  first  essays  in  the  world,  where  they 
might  act  so  great  a part.  This,  the  work  of  years,  and  of 
such  cost  and  trouble,  is  all  done,  as  it  seems,  with  no  more 
heart  than  a woman  would  plant  a row  of  cabbages,  or  let  a 
hen  hatch  a nestful  of  eggs.  It  is  simply  a crop  to  be  planted, 
watered,  and  then  gathered  in  — a useful  animal  to  be  bred, 
and  converted  into  money  in  due  time,  — a speculation  to  be 
wound  up  at  the  earliest  opportunity.  With  what  amount  of 
heart  are  families  generally  reared  ? What  is  the  inducement  ? 
Whose  weal,  and  what  weal,  is  the  object  of  the  long  toils  and 
sacrifices  ? When  is  it  a work  of  nature,  and  when  a mere 
pecuniary  speculation  ? When  for  the  child,  and  when  for 
the  parent  ? Certainly  it  is  one  of  the  scandals  of  civiliza- 
tion that  it  sacrifices  nature  to  schemes  of  ambition  and  ag- 
grandizement, in  which  the  more  substantial  interests,  because 
the  more  vital  and  eternal,  are  sacrificed.  Is  there  not  some 
analogy  in  these  sacrifices  to  the  portentous  deeds  now  so  rife, 
we  are  told,  in  the  depraved  population  of  the  manufacturing 
districts  ? A reflection  so  painful,  so  delicate,  and  yet  so 
suggestive,  we  gladly  leave  in  the  hands  of  our  readers,  with 
no  further  remark  than  that  there  does  seem  something  hid- 
eously significant  in  so  extensive  and  so  increasing  a horror. 


382 


APPENDIX. 


PALMER,  THE  POISONER  AT  RUGELEY. 

The  cold-blooded  murders  of  this  ruffian  are  memorable ; 
and  the  truly  Saxon  form  of  his  heavy  jaws  and  broad  skull 
was  particularly  noted.  He  is  a type  of  criminal  peculiarly 
English.  An  American  traveller  says,  — 

“ It  appears  that  one  of  the  culprit’s  favorite  amusements, 
both  before  and  after  his  wife’s  death,  was  the  seduction  of 
country  girls,  whose  virtue,  I can  readily  believe,  in  these 
parts,  would  not  hold  out  long  against  a ‘ gentleman.’  It  is 
proved  that  on  the  night  of  his  wife’s  death  he  seduced  the 
servant  girl  who  had  been  watching  with  him  her  last  mo- 
ments. Seven  other  girls  have  borne  children  to  him,  to  each 
of  whom  he  allowed  a weekly  stipend  for  their  support.  Of 
these,  three  died  suddenly,  in  the  full  bloom  of  health  and 
youth ; and  two  others  (now  married)  aver  that  they  left  his 
house  because  they  found  themselves  so  frequently  sick  after 
drinking  a glass  of  wine  with  him.  In  their  own  words,  they 
‘ consaited  as  how  Measter  Palmer  wur  tryin’  his  physic  on  I, 
i’  fun,  as  he  did  on  dogs  and  cats.’  Poisoning  would  seem  to 
have  been  a controlling  passion  with  the  wretch ; he  could  not 
refrain  from  experimenting  upon  his  acquaintances  in  their 
convivial  moments.  He  exhibited  neither  tact  nor  caution  in 
his  villany,  — named  one  of  his  horses  Strychnine , as  if  in 
bravado,  — a mere  brutal,  clumsy  monster,  in  fact,  who  poi- 
soned 6 i’  fun.’  ” 

The  same  writer  thus  describes  Rugeley,  the  scene  of 
Palmer’s  wholesale  poisonings,  which  description  will  apply 
to  a great  many  towns  and  villages  in  England  as  well. 

66  Few  Americans  ever  visit  these  rural  districts  in  the  cen- 
tral counties  of  England ; and,  without  personal  acquaintance 
with  them,  no  adequate  conception  can  be  formed  of  a state  of 
brutality,  coarseness,  and  villany,  coexistent  with  much  wealth, 
luxury,  and  no  little  parade  of  religion  and  church-going  on  a 
Sunday.  Rugeley  is  a pleasant  little  town  enough,  though  very 


APPENDIX. 


383 


old  fashioned.  The  ancient  hotels,  and  most  of  the  larger  res- 
idences, are  in  a tumble-down  condition.  These  last  are  gen- 
erally surrounded  by  spacious  and  well-kept  gardens,  chiefly 
owned  by  their  occupants,  who  are,  with  few  exceptions,  per- 
sons of  independent  means,  unconnected  with  trade,  and  affect- 
ing much  contempt  for  all  persons  engaged  in,  or  who  have 
retired  from,  business.  The  complacent  snobbishness  of  these 
little  aristocrats  is  the  most  amusing  feature  of  the  place. 
You  meet  here  none  of  the  squalid  poverty  and  cringing  men- 
dicancy so  common  in  the  larger  cities  and  manufacturing 
towns.  The  laboring  class  appear  to  find  sufficient  employ- 
ment on  the  surrounding  farms,  and  are,  I believe,  better  paid 
than  in  any  other  county  in  England.  The  shopkeepers  main- 
tain a respectable  appearance,  and  the  numerous  taverns  and 
beer  shops  seem  to  keep  a roaring  trade  from  morning  till 
night.  Few  strangers  ever  settle  here,  and  few  of  the  natives, 
I presume,  ever  leave  the  neighborhood.  Quick  ruin  awaits 
any  ‘ outsider  ’ who  is  adventurous  enough  to  seek  his  fortune 
here,  unless  he  happens  to  be  as  unscrupulous  a rascal  as  they 
who  are  to  the  manor  born.  The  Rugeley  man  delights  in 
fleecing  a stranger,  and  boasts  how  soon  such-a-one  was  ‘ done 
up/  and  such-a-one  was  6 cleaned  out/  and  sent  back.  The 
population,  therefore,  presents  somewhat  the  aspect  of  a snug 
family  party  of  gamblers  and  sensualists,  — the  son  succeeding 
to  his  father’s  tavern,  or  store,  or  bankruptcy,  and  faithfully 
preserving  and  transmitting  his  vices,  his  ignorance,  and  his 
bigotry. 

“ The  place  abounds  with  recrimination ; the  buried  scan- 
dals of  past  years  are  resuscitated ; the  clowns  in  the  beer 
houses  speak  with  new-found  boldness  of  the  hushed-up  vil- 
lanies  of  their  masters  and  the  surrounding  gentry;  the 
wealthier  part  of  the  community  are  at  feud  with  each  other 
in  consequence  of  mutual  recriminations : many  have  aban- 
doned the  town  in  disgust ; and  the  only  impression  that  a 
stranger  can  form,  from  the  stories  now  circulating  in  their 
midst,  is,  that  there  never  was  an  honest  man  or  chaste  woman 


384 


APPENDIX. 

in  this  detestable  den.  The  superstitious  lower  classes  dare 
not  pass  the  house  at  night  where  Palmer  lived,  nor  could 
they  be  induced  after  sundown  to  cross  the  churchyard  where 
the  victims  of  the  arch-poisoner  are  buried.  These  classes  are 
pure  specimens  of  the  unadulterated  Saxon  churl,  — the  iden- 
tical clowns  that  Shakspeare  drew,  — ignorant,  sensual,  and 
contented,  speaking  a dialect  that  a Christian  man  cannot  un- 
derstand, and  which  changes  somewhat  in  every  ten  miles  of 
country  you  travel.  Their  master  is  6 measter ’ or  4 gaffer,’ 
their  mistress  is  ‘ dame,’  their  wives  and  daughters  are  ‘ gude 
wenches,’  themselves  are  6 chaw  bacons  ’ and  ‘ clodhoppers.’ 
They  ‘ fettle  ’ your  horse,  and  servilely  touch  their  felt  hats  if 
you  look  at  them.  They  attire  themselves  in  corduroy  breech- 
es, and  tremendous  ankle  boots,  the  soles  of  which  are  thickly 
studded  with  large  hob-nails ; and  for  an  upper  garment  they 
wear,  in  all  its  original  elaborateness  of  stitch  and  embroidery, 
the  traditional  ‘ smock-frock  ’ or  tunic  of  the  old  Saxon  6 vil- 
lein.’ Their  recreations  are  drinking  and  boxing ; and  poach- 
ing and  sheep  stealing  are  important  parts  of  their  occupation. 

“ One  wonders  chiefly,  on  arriving  at  a town  like  this,  how 
the  inhabitants  gain  a livelihood,  and  contrive  to  maintain  the 
sleek  appearance  most  of  them  present.  Once  a week,  on  the 
market  day,  a little  animation  is  visible  in  the  forenoon  ; at  all 
other  times  an  air  of  strange  lethargy  pervades  the  streets. 
Groups  of  decently-dressed  men  lounge  at  the  street  corners, 
having  apparently  nothing  on  earth  to  do  or  care  about ; and 
the  storekeepers  pass  the  day  in  loafing  wearily  in  the  door- 
ways of  their  shops,  gossipping  with  passers-by,  while  their 
white-aproned  apprentices  inside  loll  about  the  counters  as 
lazy  as  their  masters.  The  only  relief  to  this  tiresome  mo- 
notony is  afforded  in  the  afternoon  by  the  arrival,  on  shopping 
excursions,  of  dashing  equipages  belonging  to  the  nobility  and 
gentry  whose  mansions  are  in  the  neighborhood.” 


APPENDIX. 


CONVENTS  AND  NUNS. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Times . 

Sir  : Since  you  were  choked  off  the  Celt,  you  really  seem 
at  a loss  for  something  to  worry.  I cannot  refer  your  attack 
upon  unoffending  nuns  to  any  Christian  motive;  it  must  be 
the  impulse  of  Saxon  blood — the  indiscriminate  ferocity  of 
the  bull-dog,  that  sees  no  distinction  between  a man  and  a gen- 
tle virgin.  O,  in  your  might,  let  convents  alone  ! They  don’t 
cost  you  any  thing,  and  they  are  not  rich  enough  to  be  plun- 
dered. These  islands  have  had  some  respite  since  your  in- 
stinct got  vent  in  India  and  elsewhere.  But  is  virtue  now  so 
high  in  England  that  Saxon  propensities  are  no  longer  the 
mainspring  of  Protestant  liberty  ? You  improve  as  you  are 
becoming  more  Celtic.  But  the  old  plundering,  violating, 
murdering,  book-burning,  arts-destroying,  music-hating  Saxon 
blood  runs  thickly  in  your  veins  yet.  You  are  more  hypocrit- 
ical, that’s  aH  You  come  with  your  sleek  bacon  face  to  pro- 
tect ladies  from  their  own  fathers,  brothers,  priests ; but,  if 
necessary , you  will  smash  into  nuns’  bedchambers,  and  call  in 
the  aid  of  your  English  officers,  those  guardians  of  female 
virtue  in  cities  sanctified  by  their  presence.  You  say  that  you 
do  not  urge  the  convent-smashing  bill  on  religious  grounds.  I 
believe  you,  my  boy.  Celibacy  or  marriage  are  matters  of 
expediency  with  you.  Very  few  of  your  military  slaves  are 
permitted  to  marry,  which  no  doubt  adds  immensely  to  the 
morality  of  towns.  When  leave  of  marriage  is  granted  to  a 
slave,  he  must  bring  his  wife  into  the  common  barrack  room. 
You  separate  man  and  wife  in  your  poorhouses  ; you  recog- 
nize prostitution  as  a regular  trade  by  giving  publicity  and 
awarding  damages  to  unmarried  mothers.  You  have  nothing 
to  say  about  your  thousand  houses  of  infamy,  always  let  and 
often  furnished  by  your  respectable  citizens,  who  go  with  their 
gilt  Bibles  on  the  Sabbath  to  praise  the  Lord.  Penance  and 
retirement  are  too  Popish  for  you.  Your  ladies  often  patron- 

88 


880 


APPENDIX. 


ize  and  prefer  unmarried  wet  nurses ; in  short,  you  are  indif- 
ferent to  married  or  single.  You  hate  nunneries  because  they 
are  a Christian  institution,  and  because  you  cannot,  will  not, 
believe  that  any  people  could  live  in  perpetual  chastity.  You 
cannot  smother  your  infidel  contempt  for  the  name  of  the 
Holy  Virgin.  The  profligate  translators  of  your  lion  and  uni- 
corn Bible  falsified  the  text  in  order'  to  put  into  the  Redeem- 
er’s mouth  words  insulting  to  his  mother  at  the  marriage  in 
Cana,  and  in  all  your  endless  editions  your  hireling  churchmen 
have,  with  the  Greek  text  before  them,  perpetuated  the  blas- 
phemous lie.  Your  whole  moral  existence  is  a horrid  mock- 
ery; your  legislation  a farce.  Y"ou  have  no  intention  of  re- 
peating the  old  game  of  exciting  us  to  premature  rebellion. 
You  don’t  seriously  intend  to  violate  the  sanctuaries  of  our 
women ; you  merely  wish  to  keep  us  in  mind  that  there  is  a 
ruling  providence  in  Downing  Street.  If  we  did  not  feel  the 
rod  occasionally,  we  might  forget  how  to  send  up  humble 
petitions  — a very  wholesome  and  necessary  practice  for  the 
subject.  Our  devoted  loyalty  would  want  exercise ; our  knee 
joints  might  become  anchylosed,  our  necks  might  stiffen.  The 
grand  secret  of  English  statesmanship  is  to  promote  an  amus- 
ing excitement  among  the  people  — to  set  the  rabble  by  the 
ears.  This  will  prevent  the  mere  serfs  thinking  of  their  own 
selfish  interests.  Kick  up  an  infernal  dust  about  ecclesiastical 
titles,  and  convents,  and  thumbscrews ; this  will  divert  the 
vulgar  gaze  from  the  curse  of  income  taxes,  and  the  salaries 
and  important  services  of  my  lords  the  silver  sticks  and  sugar 
sticks  in  waiting.  When  war  or  rumors  of  war  produce  ex- 
citement enough,  you  can  then  withdraw  internal  stimulants, 
and  it  may  even  be  necessary  to  soothe  and  throw  a sop  to 
the  clamorous  multitude  whose  opportunity  is  your  difficulty. 
As  bloody  murder  gets  up,  Exeter  Hall  goes  down  — one 
devil  being  enough  at  a time  to  keep  the  people  infatuated. 

Good  Heavens ! what  a struggle  this  little  nation  has  had 
with  the  devouring  Saxon  beast,  half  lion,  half  serpent.  The 
breath  of  history  is  laden  with  the  victorious  cheers  and  the 


APPENDIX. 


387 


dying  groans  of  the  children  of  the  Gael.  Who  can  count 
the  heroes  that  bled  on  the  field  and  on  the  scaffold  ? What 
mind  can  estimate  the  self-sacrifice  of  a people  who  abandoned 
all  and  suffered  all  for  God’s  sake.  The  bodies  of  a million 
martyrs  are  not  yet  decayed.  If  they  had  cursed  God,  and 
spat  upon  the  Virgin,  your  Saxons  would  have  fed  them  with 
soup  — ay,  would  have  emptied  their  bursting  coffers  to  save 
them.  Your  poorer  murder  their  children.  Your  legislators 
murder  or  starve  nations.  You  take  a savage  delight  in  starv- 
ing the  Hindoos,  denying  them  salt,  the  most  important  element 
of  their  food,  the  want  of  which  created  cholera,  that  plague 
which  may  be  called  the  breath  of  Saxon  tyranny.  You  know 
it  was  the  universal  custom  of  your  Saxons  to  murder  their 
babes  when  they  grew  too  numerous  — your  laws  record  the 
fact.  It  is  equally  notorious  that  the  Saxons  sold  their  own 
wives  and  children  into  slavery.  The  poisoning  trade  has 
merely  succeeded  to  the  Smithfield  sales.  Tyrants  have 
wasted  with  fire  and  sword,  but  there  never  was  a nation  of 
such  sleek-faced,  cold-blooded,  paternal  rulers  as  you  are.  I 
have  witnessed  death  by  starvation  in  this  wealthiest  of  united 
kingdoms.  Corpses  of  large  gaunt  men,  mothers,  virgins, 
babes ; and  the  ghastly  eyes  of  the  dead  burned  vengeance 
into  the  hearts  of  the  living  never  to  be  effaced.  Was  it  un- 
natural that  I should  have  joined  the  devoted  ranks  of  those 
who  abandoned  their  own  worldly  prosperity,  and  only  hoped 
to  meet  }^ou  in  bloody  conflict  ? And  can  it  be  credited  that 
our  mother,  the  church,  whom  you  blaspheme,  taught  me  after 
all  this  to  forgive  you  — ay,  even  you  ? It  was  a miracle,  or 
I am  no  man.  I submitted  to  believe  that  Englishmen  are 
like  other  men,  but  this  last  act  of  yours  has  revived  old  feel- 
ings, and  confirmed  me  in  the  conviction  that  there  is  some- 
thing inherently  brutal  in  the  Saxon  nature.  I believe  that 
your  state  is  the  rampant  lion,  and  your  church  the  hypocrit- 
ical wolf  of  prophecy.  You  robbed  and  confiscated  to  your 
hearts’  content  — you  hanged  and  butchered  till  you  were 
tired,  or  till  the  work  was  no  longer  safe.  But  the  strong 


388 


APPENDIX. 


will  of  the  Catholic  Celt  is  unsubdued,  and  his  heart  is  yet 
uncorrupted  by  Saxon  teaching  and  example. 

Your  mission  has  now  less  of  brute  force,  but  it  is  still  more 
hateful.  Your  generation  is  animated  by  the  most  dreadful 
and  loathsome  devil.  Your  fathers  were  mere  robbers,  cut- 
throats — somewhat  blunt  and  open ; but  you  are  a race  of 
vipers,  of  slanderers,  and  hypocrites.  You  habitually  commit 
the  greatest  crime  against  society  — the  murder  of  character. 
You  slandered  the  poor  Celtic  peasant  when  lie  was  in  the 
agonies  of  death.  It  was  not  enough  that  your  fangs  trans- 
fixed his  heart,  you  must  also  cover  him  with  the  filth  of  your 
poison  ; you  slandered  his  humble  priest  that  consoled  him  in 
the  last  hour.  And  now  you  must  indorse  the  malignant  cal- 
umnies of  Exeter  Hall  and  law-Bishop  Whately  against  our 
devoted  virgins  — our  pride,  the  great  glory  of  our  humanity. 
Ah ! “ Nothing  canst  thou  to  damnation  add  greater  than 
that.”  I can  now  believe  any  thing  of  you.  I can  believe 
that  your  aristocratic  legislators  secretly  joined  in  the  gloat  - 
ings  of  Exeter  Hall  over  the  starvation  of  Irish  Papists.  I 
can  believe  that  education,  and  rank,  and  title,  and  gaudy 
equipage,  may  encircle  rotten  hearts.  Christianity  could  work 
a miracle  on  your  Saxon  nature.  It  did  work  miracles  on  you 
before  the  apostle  Harry  and  the  immaculate  Bess  aroused  the 
latent  instincts  of  your  race.  Now  you  are  a nation  of  hyp- 
ocrites, who  talk  most  of  The  Word , and  pay  least  attention 

to  it. 

This  nuns’  question  is  a fine  subject  for  discussion  in  the 
Commons.  Why  should  we  not  reason  upon  it  ? You  pull 
us  by  the  nose,  and  insult  our  women,  and  you  bid  us  reason 
upon  the  matter.  Well,  you  have  certainly  the  one  adiniiable 
quality  of  coolness  ; but  some  of  us  are  cool  enough  too.  Tou 
have  only  to  send  your  Queen,  or  your  inspectors  of  nunneries, 
and  we  will  kiss  their  hands  — some  of  us  will.  Pray  don  t 
delay  — prepare  the  royal  yacht.  We  are  most  loyal  and 
obedient.  We  know  that  the  arm  of  the  law  is  strong,  and 
that  you  can  make  it  triumphant  against  our  gentle  nuns.  W e 


APPENDIX. 


389 


will  join  Mr.  John  O’Connell  in  prayers  for  patience.  We 
are  a moral-force  people.  We  submit  to  the  will  of 
Heaven ; and  is  not  every  thing  the  will  of  Heaven  ? The 
beastly  banner  of  England  is  still  rampant  over  the  divine 
emblems  of  Erin.  The  peasant  is  still  under  the  hoof  of  land- 
lordism. We  are  still  forced  to  pay  your  ecclesiastical  flunkies. 
We  did  not  fight  in  ’48,  and,  therefore,  you  suppose  us  cowards, 
that  will  curse  God  if  you  bid  us. 

Powerful,  and  drunk  with  insolence,  having  no  faith  in  per- 
petual chastity,  your  indecent  pimps  come  “ to  inspect  ” the 
homes  of  Irishwomen.  Already  the  Orange  flunkies  lick  their 
lips  in  anticipation.  I made  it  a boast  that  all  sects  of  Irish- 
men loved  decency  and  honor.  In  future  I must  except  the 
Orange  press,  and  the  hired  clerical  cook  who  panders  to  the 
Saxon  stomach. 

Your  insulting  tone  can  arouse  indignation,  but  not  fear. 
Your  menaces  are  blustering,  empty  sounds.  Your  despotic 
friends  have  turned  against  you  in  disgust.  The  Catholics  in 
Ireland  were  never  more  conscious  of  their  true  political  course 
than  they  are  at  present.  We  were  never  so  united.  In  break- 
ing up  the  clans,  you  merely  strengthened  us,  by  leaving  the 
only  true  and  lasting  bond  — religion. 

In  this  position  we  forced  you  to  yield  emancipation.  We 
have  compelled  you  to  swallow  the  ecclesiastical  titles  act. 
Your  nunneries  bill  may  be  a very  harmless,  a very  good 
thing,  but  we  don’t  like  it ; and  you  may,  therefore,  smother 
it,  choke  it,  Saxon,  choke  it.  It  is  your  own  offspring. 

Sir,  your  bigotry  makes  you  a booby,  and  a contemptible 
despot.  You  bring  disgrace  upon  modern  legislation  by  pass- 
ing acts  which  you  dare  not  enforce,  and  proposing  infamous 
laws  which  no  honest  man  could  obey. 

I am,  sir,  yours,  &c., 

John  M‘Elheran. 

Dublin,  June  20,  1853. 

33* 


APPENDIX. 


890 


ENGLISH  AND  FRENCH  WORKMEN. 

Mr.  Iremenbere  draws  a comparison  between  the  Eng- 
lish and  French  workmen,  the  latter  being  much  superior  in 
temperance,  forethought,  and  economy. 

“ I have  conversed  with  many  English  gentlemen  who  know 
the  habits  of  the  English  colliers  and  other  operatives,  and 
they  all  declare  that  the  English  are  very  improvident.  The 
Englishman  generally  has  eaten  up  his  wages  before  they  are 
earned.  This  is  a general  rule.  Landlords  of  taverns  run 
up  scores,  and  the  foreman,  who  pays  the  men  generally  in  a 
tavern,  pays  the  landlord. 

“ Among  the  miners  of  Cornwall  and  the  south-west,  on  the 
contrary,  the  people  are  temperate  and  provident.  They  pre- 
fer to  clothe  themselves  neatly,  and  to  put  on  their  backs  what 
the  Saxon  puts  in  his  belly. 

“ The  English  managers  of  mines  at  Valenciennes  say,  that 
were  French  artisans  going  to  England  they  would  be  so  dis- 
gusted they  would  not  stay.  They  would  think  they  had  got 
among  a savage  race.” 


ENGLISH  IDEAS  OF  CRIMINALS. 

The  Illustrated  London  News,  April  6,  1851,  in  an  article 
on  66  Our  Criminal  Population,”  says,  — 

u As  regards  the  present  generation  of  men,  who  live  amidst 
the  increasing  crime,  — which  is  the  most  unhappy  fact,  and 
the  most  disgraceful  feature,  of  our  civilization,  — the  opinions 
of  the  best  informed  are  greatly  divided.  One  class,  with  the 
eccentric  Mr.  Carlyle  at  their  head,  would  deal  with  criminals 
upon  the  old  system : they  would  flog,  starve,  chain,  hang,  be- 
head, or  quarter  them  — do  any  thing,  in  fact,  to  extirpate 
them  from  the  land  as  fast  as  they  sprout  up  amongst  us,  like 
noxious  and  over-prolific  weeds.  As  for  trying  to  reform  them, 


APPENDIX. 


391 


that  is  out  of  the  question.  Criminals  may  be  men,  but  they 
are  not  the  brothers  of  the  diseiples  of  this  school.  4 Brothers  ! 9 
says  Mr.  Carlyle,  4 how  can  they  be  our  brothers  ? They  are 
our  enemies/  How  he  would  treat  them  all,  appears  from  his 
address  to  an  imaginary  criminal  — the  type  of  the  whole  class 

— whom  he  thus  apostrophizes  in  his  pamphlet  entitled  Model 
Prisons  : 4 Caitiff! 9 exclaims  this  wrathful  prophet  of  the  lat- 
ter days,  4 we  liate  thee!  We — not  to  be  partakers  in  thy 
destructive  adventure  of  defying  God  and  all  the  Universe  — 
dare  not  allow  thee  to  continue  any  longer  amongst  us.  As  a 
palpable  deserter  from  the  ranks  where  all  men,  at  their  eter- 
nal peril,  are  bound  to  be  — palpable  deserter,  taken  with  the 
red  hand,  fighting  thus  against  the  whole  Universe  and  its  laws, 
we  send  thee  back  into  the  whole  Universe ; solemnly  expel 
thee  from  our  community ; and  will,  in  the  name  of  God,  — 
not  with  joy  and  exultation,  but  with  sorrow  stern  as  thy  own, 

— hang  thee  on  Wednesday  next,  and  so  end/  4 Hopeless 
forever,’  he  continues,  4 is  the  method  of  love  with  criminals. 
These  abject,  ape,  wolf,  ox,  imp,  and  other  diabolical  animal 
specimens  of  humanity,  who  of  the  very  gods  could  ever  have 
commanded  them  by  love  ? A collar  round  the  neck,  and  a 
cart  whip  flourished  o^r  the  back  — these,  in  a just  and 
steady  human  hand,  were  what  the  gods  would  have  appointed 
them/  It  is  not  many  men  who  speak  like  this  Habakkuk  of 
the  Gentiles,  but  there  is  a good  sprinkling  of  people  who  think 
this  trenchant  mode  of  undoing  the  knotty  question  is  the  only 
proper  one,  and  that  all  mercy  is  misplaced  which  is  shown  to 
criminals. 

44  Another  class  would  run  to  the  opposite  extreme,  and 
lodge  the  delinquents  in  the  model  prisons  which  so  power- 
fully raise  the  bile  of  the  philosopher  just  quoted,  and  give 
them,  to  use  his  words,  4 light  work  — picking  oakum,  and  the 
like  — in  airy  apartments,  with  glass  roofs,  of  agreeable  tem- 
perature and  perfect  ventilation ; ’ and  feed  them  on  4 bread, 
cocoa,  soup,  meat,  and  other  kinds  of  food  — all  of  excellence 
superlative/  ” 


APPENDIX. 


892 


The  editor  quotes  the  various  methods,  the  severe  and  the 
lenient,  that  have  failed  to  reclaim  the  Anglo-Saxons.  “ Soci- 
ety is  utterly  puzzled  what  to  do ; ” but  “ society  is  rightly 
served.  It  has  sown  criminals,  and  it  must  reap  them.”  Ig- 
norance and  poverty,  he  concludes,  are  the  sources  of  crime. 
But  the  educated  and  comfortable  English  are  proved  to  be  as 
murderous  and  dishonest  almost  as  the  low  English,  and  they 
have  easier  means  to  elude  detection. 

Carlyle  is  right.  Nothing  but  the  halter  ever  kept  the 
Anglo-Saxon  in  order.  Jack  Ketch  preaches  the  gospel  for 
him.  England  never  found  a respite  from  the  fever  of  Gothic 
blood  in  her  veins.  Her  disgusting  scrofula  never  seemed  to 
dry  up  until  transportation  gave  an  outlet  to  the  bad  blood. 
But  now  that  this  relief  is  arrested,  immediately  we  see  Eng- 
land again  the  England  of  Saxon  times  — with  the  exception 
that  choking  has  taken  the  place  of  the  knife,  or  sac , from  which 
the  Sacsans  got  their  name. 

England  is  Christian  just  in  as  far  as  her  people  are  forci- 
bly restrained  from  taking  the  license  of  private  judgment  and 
consequent  action  which  Protestantism  allows.  The  true 
Protestant  is  he  who  takes  faith  alone  as  his  rule,  and  whose 
faith  is  his  own  private  judgment^  and  whose  own  private 
judgment  allows  him  to  gratify  his  natural  instincts,  to  break 
from  restraint,  and  trample  on  authority ; whose  reading  of 
the  Bible  guides  him  in  his  own  private  judgment,  and  whose 
own  private  judgment  guides  him  in  reading  the  Bible. 

The  English,  with  all  their  roaring  bigotry,  and  snivelling 
cant,  and  slimy,  sanctimonious  souperism,  care  not  a farthing 
for  religion.  The  mock  establishment  exists  simply  because 
it  is  an  institution,  and  because  there  is  no  party  strong  enough 
to  wrench  it  from  the  high  class  who  live  by  it.  It  remains 
because  the  mediocracy  get  their  pickings  out  of  it  one  way 
or  another  ; and  there  is  the  gentility  of  it,  and  the  family 
connections,  and  the  aristocratic  patronage  and  influence  ram- 
ifying through  society.  But,  above  all,  it  is  an  engine  of  po- 
litical power  — an  act  o f Parliament , and  as  such  defended  by 


APPENDIX. 


393 


the  sword  of  state,  and  the  policeman’s  baton.  But  the  people 
at  large  despise  it,  and  care  not  one  fig  for  the  supposed  Chris- 
tianity of  the  thing. 

There  is  this  distinction  between  Irish  and  English  crime, 
that  the  Irishman  is  impelled  by  some  fierce  passion  of  anger 
or  revenge,  and  is  conscious  of  crime ; the  Englishman  gen- 
erally commits  crime  with  animal  indifference,  and  without 
after  remorse  ; his  only  conscience  is  fear  of  the  civil  law. 
This  is  what  makes  England  truly  pagan.  There  is  always 
hope  of  a people  who  have  a conscience.  But  the  most  hope- 
less feature  in  Anglo-Saxonism  is  hypocrisy. 

The  Anglo-Saxons  affect  to  despise  the  superstitions  ” of 
the  Celts  in  paying  honor  to  the  Mother  of  Christ ; but  they 
themselves  readily  afforded  a multitude  of  believers  in  Jo- 
hanna Soutlicote,  who  declared  herself  pregnant  with  the  true 
Messiah. 

The  people  of  New  York  remember  the  congregation  of  the 
most  wealthy  and  intelligent  class  who  worshipped  a man  call- 
ing himself  God  Almighty.  Many  proved  the  sincerity  of 
their  belief  by  signing  over  to  him  their  property.  They 
raised  him  on  a grand  throne,  and  paid  him  divine  honors  as 
long  as  the  fever  lasted.  This,  however,  was  a harmless  farce 
in  comparison  with  the  sanguinary  rites  of  Mrs.  Wakeman. 

The  English  are  a very  credulous  people  in  material  mat- 
ters. Meaningless  blasphemies,  if  they  appeal  to  the  senses, 
are  gulped  down  with  a voracity  astonishing.  Witchcraft, 
rappings,  quack  medicines,  miraculous  pills  for  all  diseases, 
Dr.  Haygartli’s  Metallic  Contractions,  Greatrake’s  Sympathetic 
Salve,  which  infallibly  cured  a wound  if  rubbed  on  the  knife 
or  pistol  that  inflicted  the  injury,  homoeopathy,  &c.,  not  to 
mention  the  famous  Cock  Lane  Ghost,  and  the  dancing  por- 
ridge pots  of  Baldanach  — all  firmly  believed  in  by  the  en- 
lightened British  people. 


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BOSTON  COLLEGE  L7 

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CHESTNUT  HILL,  M * 

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